Search efforts entered a third day Tuesday for an 11-year-old boy who went missing at Juwangsan National Park during a family visit to a temple on Sunday.
Local authorities deployed 80 personnel — 40 police officers, 28 firefighters and 12 national park workers — as well as five drones equipped with thermal imaging cameras and rescue dogs in the search for the boy. The overnight operation continued until 11 p.m. Monday but produced no major clues. Search efforts resumed at 6 a.m. Tuesday.
Officials combed hiking trails and nearby slopes throughout the national park, focusing on the route between Giamgyo Bridge, where the boy was last seen by his parents, and the mountain’s 720.6-meter main peak.
The boy had visited Daejeonsa, a temple inside the park, with his parents on Sunday after traveling from his home in Daegu.
Around noon, he told his parents he would “go a little farther up the mountain” before disappearing. The trail from the temple to the summit stretches about 2-3 kilometers and usually takes an adult around 1 hour and 20 minutes each way.
His parents reported him missing at 5:53 p.m. after he failed to return.
The boy, described as thin and about 145 centimeters tall, was wearing a Samsung Lions uniform and cap when he disappeared. Authorities said he was not carrying a cellphone.
milaya@heraldcorp.com
