Nante Niemi was camping with family in Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park when he disappeared Saturday afternoon.
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Authorities continue to search for missing boy in U.P. state park
Authorities continue to search for an 8-year-old Wisconsin boy missing since Saturday afternoon in a state park in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, scouring a 40-square-mile area with hilly terrain and standing water.
According to Michigan State Police, more than 150 search and rescue personnel are searching for Nante Niemi in the Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park, including nine police dogs. They are currently in a roughly 40 square mile area, searching on foot with some resources in the air and on the water as weather conditions allow.
Niemi was camping with family when he disappeared Saturday afternoon, his mother, Jessica Buerger,
told WDIO-TV. State police said he was last seen at about 1 p.m. Temperatures were around 49 degrees in the park Sunday night, according to Accuweather.
Nante is a White male with blonde hair, brown eyes, about 4 feet 2 inches tall and weighs 70-80 pounds. He was last seen wearing a white sweatshirt, grey sweatpants and black boots.
According to a preliminary investigation, Nante was walking and gathering firewood for the family's campsite when he disappeared.
Park officials said dozens of agencies from Michigan and Wisconsin are involved in the search.
"The terrain is very remote and hilly with a lot of standing water due to the time of the year," officials said in a statement. "Several seasonal roads are still impassable because of snow depth."
They also urged the public to avoid the area.
"The Michigan State Police thanks residents for their offers of assistance with the search but is asking the public to please stay away from the area," they said.
Buerger declined to comment on Monday about the search.
"We are focused on Nante's return," she said in a message on Facebook.
Nante is a student in the Hurley School District in Hurley, Wisc., which advised anxious members of the community to stay away from the area so authorities “can best do their job.”
“The local police are also aware that we stand by ready with 2 buses of volunteers waiting to go help search,” the school district said on Facebook.
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