ONTONAGON COUNTY, Mich. — UPDATE: The boy was found about 2 miles from his family's campsite by a volunteer member of a search and rescue team on Monday. He has been reunited with his family and is good health.
The Michigan State Police (MSP) Wakefield Post is coordinating a search for a missing 8-year-old boy from Wisconsin in the Porcupine Mountains.
Nante Niemi went missing on Saturday around 1 p.m. while camping with his family in the area of Pinkerton trail, WDIO in Minnesota reports.
MSP says that Niemi was walking and gathering firewood for the family's campsite when he went missing.
Niemi is described as about 4'2", weighing 70-80 lbs. and having blonde hair and blue eyes. He was last seen wearing a white sweatshirt, grey sweatpants and black boots.
The search organized by MSP includes more than 150 search and rescue personnel, nine K9 officers and aviation support.
The search area is roughly 40 square miles around the area he was last seen.
MSP is asking people to stay away from the area while the search is in progress.
Niemi is a student at the Hurley School District in Wisconsin, which showed support for the boy and the search efforts in a Facebook post on Sunday:
"People are calling and asking if there’s anything they can do to help with the search and rescue of an 8-year-old Hurley student who is still missing in the Porcupine Mountain area. The Hurley School administration is in frequent communication with local authorities. The local police are also aware that we stand by ready with 2 buses of volunteers waiting to go help search. Many professional agencies from Wisconsin and Michigan have been deployed throughout the area, and we are being told to please stay away from the area so they can best do their job. However, if we need to send volunteers, we stand ready and thank all community members for reaching out to offer assistance."
MSP says they will have a team provide updates from the search to the media throughout the process.
►Make it easy to keep up to date with more stories like this. Download the 13 ON YOUR SIDE app now.
Have a news tip? Email news@13onyourside.com, visit our Facebook page or Twitter. Subscribe to our YouTube channel.
