Three-year-old boy Axle has had a busy couple of days after he went missing in Tolaga Bay earlier this week - and wasn't found until nearly 24 hours later.
At about 1pm on Tuesday, the child wandered off with the neighbour's dog from his home in a remote part of Tolaga Bay, near Gisborne, wearing only a T-shirt, gumboots and a nappy. His disappearance sparked an intensive search involving police and hundreds of volunteers, and he was found safe and well at about 10:45am on Wednesday.
Axle spent Wednesday night in hospital as a precaution, and it's believed he was discharged on Thursday morning.
After a busy 48 hours, the boy has issued a heartfelt message for New Zealand: "Thank you everybody for helping find me."
He also told the New Zealand Herald he is feeling "good" after his disappearance, which a family friend called his "big adventure".
Axle's mother Haley Allatt told the outlet it was difficult to describe how she felt when her son disappeared.
"It was like my soul left me. It was just like, I don't know how to explain it, the worst feeling in the world knowing that you may never ever see him again," she said.
Tairāwhiti Area Police Commander, Insp Sam Aberahama, says it's incredible how high Axle's spirits were after the young boy slept overnight in a small gully.
"It's one thing being in the bush overnight - it's another thing being a three-year-old away from your mum," he told The AM Show on Thursday. "That was really concerning."
But Aberahama said while the story had a happy ending, it wasn't an easy ride.
"When the search teams finished at midnight the night before and I hadn't had a call - it's probably fair to say it was a low period but we had to keep optimistic.
"We had to keep positive - there was no evidence to suggest other than the boy had wandered off so we had to just go again the next day and, wow, what an outcome."
Aberahama says it was an emotional moment when Axle was reunited with his family.
"Just huge elation," he said. "The community's hearts poured out - they brought their hearts and their bodies to the… area to do their best in supporting that whānau and finding Axle."
Family friend Ange Marsh told Newshub on Wednesday that Axle's mother spent all night searching the area, along with hundreds of other volunteers from the community.
"All I could hear was this really happy little boy talking about his big adventure, and obviously mum and dad are absolutely in tears and happy and relieved," Marsh said.
