Four-year-old Yuval Kogan was found Friday afternoon, more than 24 hours after he went missing from Hofit Beach in Ashkelon on Thursday morning, according to a video posted to social media Friday.
Kogan was found by searchers who were riding horses in a massive effort to find him. The child was found awake and is in stable condition.
“After many hours of frantic, nonstop searches for four-year-old Yuval Kogan, who was last seen yesterday afternoon, the missing person was located a short time ago on Nitzanim Beach, safe and sound,” said the Missing Persons Unit in the Southern Region on Friday.
Volunteer teams from the ZAKA Missing Persons Search Unit cooperated with Israel Police, emergency forces, and rescue workers, using all of the organization’s search and rescue equipment to locate Kogan.
Hundreds of police officers and volunteers participated in the search
Hundreds of police officers and volunteers searched for the boy throughout the night and day by air, sea, and land, with technological resources and rescue teams deployed in an effort to find him.
When news was announced of his discovery, celebrations broke out on the beach.
The boy had last been seen shortly after noon on Thursday in the vicinity of Hofit Beach, where he was on a picnic with his two sisters and father.
The father reportedly was taking care of his daughters for a few minutes, during which time Yuval disappeared.
How did 4-year-old Yuval Kogan go missing?
After the report of his disappearance was received, police dispatched helicopters, the Police Marine Unit, divers, the municipal rescue unit, and additional emergency responders to the scene.
Search efforts were focused along the shoreline and the surrounding areas.
Authorities searched from the northern coast of the city of Ashkelon to the Nitzanim community.
As the hours passed before riders discovered him, concerns about Kogan’s fate grew.
“Almost 24 hours have passed since my son was lost. I beg anyone who can come help, any possible rescuers, I’m asking everyone to come,” Kogan’s mother, Dina, told Walla on Friday before her child was found. “I’m worried. I’m afraid it could be a kidnapping.”
President Isaac Herzog spoke with Dina Kogan on the phone, expressing his deep concern, issuing support for the family, and confirming that he is in contact with Israel Police Commissioner Daniel Levy and Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency)
Director David Zini with regard to any updates on the search.