Italy: Missing toddler found alive

Rome: Nicola Tanturli, the toddler missing since Monday night from his home in a remote area of northern Tuscany, has been found alive.

The news, confirmed by the prefecture of Florence, follows an extensive search for the child, aged 21 months.

The boy, who is reportedly in good condition, was located about three kilometres from his home in the mountainous Mugello region near the border with Emilia Romagna.

It was a journalist from state broadcaster RAI – Giuseppe Di Tommasso – who found the little boy, after hearing moaning from the bottom of a ravine as he was making his way to the child’s home.

Di Tommaso immediately alerted authorities and it is reported that a carabiniere descended the 50 metres to bring the child to safety.

Later the reporter said that he stopped at the precise place by chance, getting out of the car after feeling unwell. It was then that he heard the noises below.

He said the television crew, from La Vita in Diretta, didn’t believe him at first, saying they thought the noise was from a deer.

But Di Tommaso insisted and after shouting “Nicola” down into the escarpment, he heard the boy call for ‘Mamma.’

“It was an indescribable feeling, a miracle” – said Di Tommaso – “As soon as he saw us he started to cry.”

The toddler is believed to have gone missing after waking up in the middle of Monday night and leaving the house on his own, possibly while sleepwalking.