A two-year-old who got lost on a farm near Jansenville in the Eastern Cape survived a night alone in the snow and rain, police said on Wednesday.
Ronaldo Spogter toddled along behind his deaf grandfather, who was unaware of him, climbed over two barbed-wire fences and spent a mid-winter night outside.
Police spokesperson Inspector Wena Theron said the boy only suffered a bit of a cold after his experience. ”He was taken to a doctor after the incident and is doing fine.”
Ronaldo’s family only noticed what had happened when his grandfather arrived at their house on the farm Boskloof at 1pm on Tuesday June 26. Theron said family members searched in all directions for him, but without success.
At 4pm he was reported missing at the police station. The police called off their search for the day at 7.30pm because it was already cold, dark and raining hard.
A dog unit joined the search the next day, and Ronaldo’s tracks and pieces of his clothing were found on a neighbouring farm.
A police officer involved said by that time they had lost hope of finding the child alive. ”It had snowed heavily that night and it was freezing outside,” he was quoted as saying by News24.
Ronaldo reacted to his name being called near where some of his clothes were found. At about 11am he was found on a rock, about 10km and two farms away from his parents’ home.
Police described finding the boy alive as a miracle. — Sapa