Eighteen miles from home and more than 27 hours after they set out on a snowmobile ride, four Alaskan children were found huddled together in a snow cave. All members of the group were discovered alive–including 2-year-old Trey Camille, the youngest of the missing. With temperatures just below freezing, their survival was nothing short of miraculous.

A Snowmobile Ride Gone Wrong

Nunam Iqua is a small village along western Alaska’s Bering Sea, tucked near the mouth of the Yukon River. The 4 boys – Christopher Johnson, 14, Frank Johnson, 8, Ethan Camille, 7, and Trey Camille, 2 – had set out for a snowmobile ride to a nearby dump when a blinding snowstorm disoriented them. When the group failed to return at their expected time, their parents knew something was wrong.

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Search parties were immediately mobilized. Members from surrounding villages scoured the nearby tundra, but visibility and the unpredictable Alaskan weather made the going difficult. The Alaska State Troopers, U.S Coast Guard, Army National Guard, and Emmonak Search and Rescue Team also joined the search by air and land. All parties were forced to suspend their efforts when conditions became too extreme around 2 AM. Karen Camille, the mother of three of the boys, told local news KTUU “my mind is going crazy.” The searchers would wait to start again at first light.

A Chance Discovery

Bryan Simon was leading one of the search and rescue groups the next morning. Riding on a snowmachine and peering towards the horizon for signs of life, he spotted something that caught his eye.

Bryan was 18 miles away from Nunam Iqua. He headed to the snowdrift with his team and was shocked to find movement. All of the children were alive, huddled together to protect the youngest of the group from the freezing elements. The snow cave was about 1ft deep by 3ft wide, and the children were arranged in a way to cover the drafts and opening from the outside. The team went to work immediately to assess the children, using their own body heat to warm them up until more help arrived. The Coast Guard’s helicopter came 15 minutes later, lifting the children to safety and rushing them to the nearest hospitals.

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Herschel Sundown, one of the rescuers, was shocked at their survival. Aside from spending so much time in freezing temperatures, the area had already been searched many times before. “It’s just the angle that we came in that we were able to spot them,” Herschel told Alaska Public Media. “The will to survive in these boys is amazing.”

Back Home Safe And Sound

The boys were all initially treated after their ordeal, with the oldest, Christopher Johnson, recovering from a hernia after trying to get the snow machine out of the snow. Thankfully, all are now back at home with their families and safe from their harrowing rescue. The families are beyond grateful that the entire group was found alive, and none of the injuries were life-threatening. Defying all odds of survival, these Alaskan children will likely not venture out too far from home anytime soon.

*Article originally appeared at Healthy Holistic Living. Reposted with permission.