Four boys missing in Fraser`s Hill found alive

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FRASER'S HILL: “I love you!” These were the first words uttered by young Jeremy Tio as he gave a warm bear hug to the orang asli man who greeted him and his three cousins by the jungle stream. 

Rapi Bata, 41, and three other rescuers spotted the boys at about 10am yesterday. The youngsters had been reported missing on Monday.  

Nine-year-old Jeremy and brothers Chew Tsyr Yee, 16, Tsyr Han, 14, and Tsyr Ming, 10, were found about seven kilometres north-east of Muar Cottage, from where they had set off for a walk along Bishop's Trail. 

SAFE IN MUMS’ ARMS: Chong Yew Moi (left) and Singaporean Jeanie Yap are overcome with emotion as they hold their sons Chew Tsyr Ming, 10, and Jeremy Tio, nine, respectively at the district health clinic in Frazer’s Hill yesterday. They were rescued with two other boys after being lost in the jungles of the highland resort since Monday.

A massive rescue and search mission covering 8,000 sq m on the ground and from the air was mounted soon after the boys were reported lost. 

When they were found, the brothers and their cousin were three kilometres from the search and rescue area. 

Rapi and the other three orang asli rescuers – his brother Pool, 33, their father Bata Soya, 57, and tok batin Chambah Mohd, 48 – had seen a patch on the ground where they believed the boys had slept as well as some fresh tracks. 

“At first the boys were not sure about us. One of the older boys asked me who we were and what we wanted,” said Rapi, relating the rescue. 

“When I told them that we were there to rescue them, they rushed at us and gave us all big hugs. 

“The youngest boy (Jeremy) uttered 'I love you' as he hugged us,” said Rapi, a former commando with the Senoi Praq. 

He said Jeremy also offered to reward them with whatever money he had in his pocket as a token of his gratitude for being rescued.  

“I was touched by his actions but I told him that we didn’t want any money.  

“The boys were very brave and didn’t cry. But I wept when I saw them. We are just overjoyed that we had finally found them,” he said. 

SAFE AND SOUND: Jeremy being lifted to a waiting ambulance after he and his cousins were rescued by orang asli trackers in Fraser’s Hill yesterday.

As the rescuers reached the town centre with the young trekkers, loud cheers and applause – as well as a sea of relieved faces – greeted them. 

Chambah said after they noticed the fresh tracks, the rescuers followed the trail to the stream where the boys were resting. 

Selangor state executive councillor Datuk Ch'ng Toh Eng and the Fraser’s Hill Environmentally Sustainable Heritage (FRESH) group had enlisted their help in the rescue operations. 

The four orang asli arrived here at 2pm on Wednesday and immediately went into the jungle.  

FRESH chairman Jason Netto said the men recited some prayers when they entered the jungle and told other rescuers that the boys had strayed from the trail.  

Malaysians who had been anxious about the safety of the boys found out about their rescue first via The Star's SMS news alert. Many readers of The Star who got the news flash on the mobile phones, called the paper to express their relief. 

The newsbreak was also immediately updated on Star Online and broadcast over Red 104.9, which included a live cross-over to Fraser’s Hill to interview family members of the boys and rescuers.  

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