Search teams found the toddler in a forest near Anusorn 200 Pi Rd, behind the Wang Talang duty free store, at 11:40am – about three kilometres from his home near Kwang Rd, Wichit.
Kusoldharm rescue worker Phattarawut Akanitthakorn, who was among the 30-strong search effort that included Wichit Police, Kusoldharm rescue workers and personnel from The Mirror Foundation, explained that Nong DJ's family had requested that search teams to search into the forest.
“They said that a dog Nong DJ had been playing with had turned up at the house twice and barked as if to tell them something,” Mr Phattarawut said.
“Also, Nong DJ’s grandfather, Sujit Chaiyo, told us that about three days ago residents in the area told him that they had heard a sound of a boy crying and saw one boy walking toward an abandoned shelter in the forest, but a dog barked at him so he ran off deeper into the forest,” he added.
“The residents did not think that the boy was a missing child (sic). Instead they thought the boy belonged to Myanmar workers in the area. Mr Sujit reported this to police anyway and told them to search near the area.”
The search teams found Nong DJ by an abandoned shelter by a canal.
“Inside the shelter we found leftover food and some milk,” said Mr Phattarawut.
“Nong DJ had his body and feet in the river and his head was resting on the ground. He had several scrapes on his body and extremely weak, but was conscious and able to communicate.”
Dr Jiradech Panyasuthikit at Vachira Phuket Hospital, where Nong DJ is recovering, told The Phuket News, “Overall Nong DJ is healthy. He has ulcerations on his feet because they were in the water too long, and he ad several scrapes all over his body.
“He has been given vitamins and nutrition via intravenous drip,” Dr Jiradech said. “We have also arranged for a child psychiatrist and paediatric doctor and nurses to monitor him closely.”