A boy abandoned in the woods in Japan was the object of an intense search after his parents said they left the 7-year-old there alone as punishment for misbehaving, reported
Agence France-Presse.
About 100 people have been looking for Yamato Tanooka since he went missing on Saturday, said AFP. His parents told authorities that they made the child get out of the car on a mountain road near Nanae on the island of Hokkaido because he had thrown stones at cars and people.
His parents first told authorities the boy got lost while they were hiking and collecting wild vegetables, said AFP. They later said they left him in what AFP described as a "bear-inhabited" forest to discipline him.
"The parents left the boy in the mountains as punishment," a police spokesman said, according to the
Japan Times. "They said they went back to the site immediately, but the boy was no longer there."
The boy's father, Takayuki Tanooka, 44, told TV Asahi that he could not bring himself to tell police what really happened when he asked for their help. Authorities told Kyodo News that the parents are being investigated for possible neglect charges.
"We have done an unforgivable thing to our child, and we have caused a lot of trouble for everyone," Tanooka, told television reporters, according to
Reuters. "I just hope he is safe."
"Whatever the result, this is parental neglect," one person said on social media, noted Reuters. "It's cold in the Hokkaido mountains, and I hear there are bears, too."
Others expressed their feelings on Twitter.