8-Year-Old Boy Lost In Michigan Woods Says He Survived On Snow

A family camping trip turned into an eight-year-old boy getting lost in Michigan's Porcupine Mountains for two days, where he says he survived on snow.

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Where Are the Porcupine Mountains?

The Porcupine Mountains are located on the northwest side of Michigan's Upper Peninsula.

Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park, also known as the Porkies, is a massive park that has 60,000 acres of forest. The park runs along the shoreline of Lake Superior and throughout the park, there are waterfalls, rivers, and trails making it Michigan's largest state park. The Porkies are famous for camping, hiking, snowmobiling, fishing, and more. This is definitely not the kind of place you want to get turned around in, especially if you are new to the park.

Eight-Year-Old Boy Gets Lost on Family Camping Trip

Michigan's Upper Peninsula began May with a couple of pretty big snow storms leaving up to three feet of snow in some parts of the west side of the U.P.

The Niemi family is from Wisconsin and popped over to the Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park to do some camping in a remote area of the park. On Saturday, eight-year-old Nante Niemi was out gathering firewood for the campsite and that is when he got turned around and became lost.

Niemi spent two days in the woods before he was found. What is amazing is the composure of the boy to not panic and have the sense to stay hydrated by eating clean snow. Niema also had the sense to make a shelter under a log that he covered with leaves and used branches and leaves to cover himself up to stay warm overnight. This kid has some serious survival skills for an eight-year-old.

According to MLive, over 150 people from the Michigan State Police and others assisted in the search when on Monday a volunteer found the young boy at his shelter and then gave him a piggyback ride to safety. The boy has since been reunited with his family and is in good health.