4-year-old Torrance boy found safe after spending night in wilderness near Central CA campground

FRESNO COUNTY, Calif. (KABC) -- A 4-year-old boy from Torrance was found safe Friday morning after he spent the night in the wilderness in Fresno County.

Christian Ramirez went missing Thursday morning from a campground near Huntington Lake.

Rescue crews launched a massive search - on the ground, in the air, with dogs and on the roads. Their efforts paid off. Search teams found the little boy on Friday about a quarter mile from where he disappeared.

"He wasn't in the campground area any longer. He was out in a wooded area. It was pretty clear that he had been lost and he had kind of hunkered down for the entire night," said Lt. Brandon Pursell with the Fresno County Sheriff's Office.

Christian was described to be in good shape, despite having just a T-shirt and shorts throughout the whole night. He was hungry and tired but otherwise in good condition. He was reunited with his parents.

It's still unclear exactly how he got separated from his family, but authorities said it appeared he wandered off while they were at the campground.

Crews were out all night in the forested area with efforts reaching 60 to 70 searchers Friday morning in a forest populated with bears and snakes and dangerous terrain.

"There's a lot of things that could have gone really, really wrong with this one, and we got lucky, the family got lucky. The boy is very, very fortunate to be with his family," Pursell said.

Heading into the summer camping season, the sheriff's office is hoping this case will spur families to keep a closer eye on their children, displaying just how easy a child can get lost in just minutes.

KFSN-TV contributed to this report.