May 26, 2008 8:35 am US/Eastern
Memorial Weekend Miracle: MIssing Child Found
3-Year-Old Disappeared From Campsite On Saturday
MONGAUP VALLEY, NY (CBS) ―
A 3-year-old boy who went missing Saturday from a campground in Sullivan County has been found.
Daniel Niktalova was in good health after his ordeal, which started before 2 p.m. Saturday when his family, from Queens, reported him missing. The family was staying at Swinging Bridge Campground on Lakeshore Drive.
After spending 24-hours lost in the woods, Niktalova is back with his family. His grandmother, Nadia Niktalova was watching him play at the upstate campsite where the family spends their weekends, but lost sight of him around 11 a.m. Saturday.
Upon his safe arrival, Nadia Niktalova was overjoyed, and could only say "Thank you everybody, thank you very much, God bless."
"There is no words," added the toddler's mother Svetlana. "I was all night in the woods screaming his name."
Search teams scoured the area day and night, by land, air and water, and found him Sunday morning in an area where bears are often sighted, sitting under a tree.
"Looked up and at first I thought it was a cub bear sitting underneath there and the little boy turned his head and lifted his face, and I'm like that's a kid,!" said Harry Rampe of the Liberty Fire Department.
Niktalov was found with minor scrapes, cuts and insect bites. He was taken to Catskill Regional Medical Center as a precaution.
(© 2008 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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