Rescuers Find Missing 5-Year-Old Kyrylo Bodnaruk After 3 Days

On the morning of June 21, 2025, rescuers found 5-year-old Kyrylo Bodnaruk, who had gone missing in the village of Triytsia in the Zabolotiv community of Ivano-Frankivsk region. The search for the child lasted more than three and a half days.

This information was published on the Facebook page of the State Emergency Service in the region.

“On June 21 at 5:54 a.m., rescuers found 5-year-old Kyrylo, who had been missing for over three days. The child has been handed over to medical personnel!!!”

The boy was spotted by an operator of the special aviation unit using a drone. He was lying under a bush near the village of Triytsia.

An interagency search group, which included mountain rescuers and police officers, quickly reached Kyrylo and assessed his condition, which was found to be satisfactory. The boy was taken to a tent where he was given first aid, reported Taras Kochkodan, head of the emergency response department of the State Emergency Service in the region.

The police noted that the child was found about one kilometer from the place where he disappeared.

During the search operation, rescuers and police examined over 5,500 hectares of territory, including 4,600 hectares of forest. Using drones, they surveyed 8,900 hectares of the area.

Divers checked 12 bodies of water covering 7,700 square meters and 155 hectares of shoreline, according to the State Emergency Service of Ukraine.

Details about Kyrylo Bodnaruk and the search efforts

Kyrylo Bodnaruk, born in 2019, lives in the village of Triytsia in the Zabolotiv community. The boy has been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder and is nonverbal.

On the evening of June 17, Kyrylo was in the forest with his mother. Around 6:00 p.m., he got lost and did not return home. At first, the woman tried to find her son on her own, and after two hours, she sought help from the police.

During the night, rescuers, law enforcement officers, and local residents conducted searches using thermal imagers, drones, and service dogs.

On the morning of June 18, National Guard members joined the search, and divers began inspecting bodies of water. On June 19, divers checked the bed of the Prut River, and the search area was expanded to 728 hectares.

On June 20, mountain rescuers, canine handlers from various regions, the Special Aviation Unit of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine, cadets from the Lviv State University of Life Safety, as well as volunteers and over 50 veterans arrived in the village of Triytsia.

The search operation was carried out with the active participation of numerous services and concerned citizens, which made it possible to successfully find the boy alive and well.