Missing six-year-old boy found after major search

Rescue services locate Yaakov Dov Shrut outside Palestinian town of Hizme, nearly a day after he ran off

Sue Surkes is The Times of Israel's environment reporter

Yaakov Dov Sarot, a six-year-old Jerusalem boy who went missing on Sunday, December 4, 2016 (Israel Police)
Yaakov Dov Sarot, a six-year-old Jerusalem boy who went missing on Sunday, December 4, 2016 (Israel Police)

Police and rescue services said Monday morning that they found a six-year-old boy who went missing in Jerusalem the day before, after a large-scale search operation involving volunteers along with alerts on local radio stations.

Yaakov Dov Shrut was found near the Palestinian town of Hizme in the West Bank, just north of Jerusalem. He was unharmed and in good health, but “exhausted,” police said.

Sarot was last seen getting off a bus with his father on Shmuel Neiman Street, in the northern neighborhood of Neve Yaakov the day before.

The father said the boy, who is autistic, ran off.

According to reports, he was first spotted by an IDF lookout, and then collected by police.

[mappress mapid=”6016″]

Police officers who arrived at the scene found him “wandering, exhausted, in an open field,” according to a spokesperson. “The police and Border Police team that located the boy put him in their car, calmed and warmed him, and gave him a drink.”

Police had focused their search on the areas of Neve Yaakov and the nearby Palestinian neighborhood of Beit Hanina.

Officers were joined by rescue teams including Zaka, police tracker dog units, a helicopter, the Megilot Rescue Team and dozens of volunteers from United Hatzalah.

Most Popular
read more:
If you’d like to comment, join
The Times of Israel Community.
Join The Times of Israel Community
Commenting is available for paying members of The Times of Israel Community only. Please join our Community to comment and enjoy other Community benefits.
Please use the following structure: example@domain.com
Confirm Mail
Thank you! Now check your email
You are now a member of The Times of Israel Community! We sent you an email with a login link to . Once you're set up, you can start enjoying Community benefits and commenting.