WI Boy Lost In Porcupine Mountains Ate Snow, Covered Himself With Leaves To Stay Warm: MSP

ONTONAGON COUNTY, MI — A Wisconsin boy who got lost in the Porcupine Mountains looking for firewood never panicked, and instead hunkered down and braved the Upper Peninsula's chilly air for two days, Michigan State Police said.

Nante Niemi, 8, was camping with his family in Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park in the area of Pinkerton trail when he got lost on his way back to the family campsite around 1 p.m. Saturday while gathering firewood, troopers said.

Niemi told troopers he walked along a trial looking for help on Sunday, but when the trail ended, he "figured the best thing to do was to just stop and wait."

Niemi also told troopers that he blanketed a log to stay under and covered himself up with branches and leaves to stay warm from the Upper Peninsula's chilly air, which dropped to 49 degrees Sunday night. He didn't have any food, so the second-grader told troopers he ate clean snow to stay hydrated.

When rescuers found Niemi on Monday, safe under his log roughly two miles from the family's campsite, troopers said they offered to carry him out. But Niemi told the rescue team he'd rather walk.

Troopers said that Niemi is in good health and was reunited with his family.

More than 150 officials and volunteers searched the area, which officials described as a very remote and hilly with a lot of standing water. Some searched by foot, while others searched from the air and water. The search also included nine police dogs.

The Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park is the largest state park in Michigan with over 60,000 acres of old-growth forest, waterfalls, Lake Superior shoreline, rivers, trails and ridges, according to the state's Department of Natural Resources.