Community Drama in Ranong: Missing Boy Feared Drowned Found Hiding in Grass After Four Hours

[Georgealbert]

 

Picture courtesy of Workpoint.

 

What began as a dramatic search-and-rescue operation ended in relief and astonishment when a 13-year-old boy, believed to have drowned, was discovered hiding in a patch of tall grass near his home.

 

The boy, the son of a Myanmar rubber plantation worker, was reported missing after he had gone fishing alone near the Haad Som Paen Reservoir in Ranong Province. His disappearance sparked immediate concern, prompting the Ranong Rescue Foundation to dispatch a team of volunteers and divers to search the area.

 

Rescue teams, equipped with lighting and generators, joined local residents to search the reservoir, focusing on the last area where the boy had been seen. Witnesses reported murky water as deep as two to three metres, and divers prepared to search beneath the surface.

 

However, just before the divers entered the water, the search took an unexpected turn.

 

The boy was found lying quietly in a dense patch of grass near a drainage ditch in front of a workers’ house, just metres from the original search area. It is believed he had been hiding for nearly four hours, paralysed by fear of punishment from his mother.

 

The emotional reunion saw the boy suffer convulsions, likely due to stress and fear. His mother embraced and comforted him before calling for emergency medical assistance. Rescue volunteers transported him to Ranong Hospital, where an ambulance was waiting to provide further care.

 

Mr Chamnong, 60, the owner of the rubber plantation and employer of the boy’s family, recounted how earlier that evening the boy’s younger sister had informed the parents that her brother was hiding in the grass, but her claims were dismissed when he did not respond to their calls.

 

“I didn’t believe he had drowned,” Mr Chamnong said. “I knew he could swim. When I came to check the water system and walked near the grass, I saw him lying silently. He must have been too scared to come out after seeing so many people searching.”

 

 

  Adapted by Asean Now from Workpoint 2025-06-03.