Missing 4-year-old located alive and well after intensive search involving Zaka, police, and rescue forces.
Yuval Kogan, 4, who disappeared yesterday afternoon at Ashkelon's northern beach, was found alive and healthy Friday after approximately 24 hours of intensive search operations, according to rescue officials.
According to an unconfirmed report, a man from Ashdod was riding a horse on his way to Nitzanim beach when he got lost and discovered Yuval standing under a tree.
Yuval was found 5-6 km (approximately an hour's walk) from the area where he had been seen last.
Zaka volunteers and teams from Israeli police, emergency rescue services, and search coordination units deployed ground vehicles, drones, and specialized locating technology throughout Thursday and Friday morning to search the dune area where the boy went missing. Kogan's father lost visual contact with him for several minutes while the family was on the beach.
The mother, Dina Kogan, a pediatrician, had raised concern that the boy, who she described as intelligent and emotionally mature for his age, would not remain hidden undetected for extended periods without outside assistance. "He's above average for his age in behavior and speech," she said. "He has emotional intelligence and therefore it wouldn't be typical for him to hide in brush for that long."
In a statement, Zaka said it was grateful for full cooperation among all responding agencies throughout the search and expressed hope that the boy and family would now find "quiet and peace."
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