4-Year-Old’s Dad on How His Son Vanished for 22 Hours and Then Was Found in 'Miracle'

"For him to be able to hug us back, it really was the best thing I could have ever imagined," Renato Ramirez said

Authorities say things ended safely for a 4-year-old boy who disappeared for 22 hours from a campground in Fresno County, California, last week — and now his father is speaking out about the ordeal.

“We really believe that we saw a modern-day miracle," Christian Ramirez's dad, Renato Ramirez, told local TV station KSEE.

"And you know, other than having a slight sunburn, being a little dehydrated and a couple bug bites, he’s absolutely fine," the elder Ramirez said.

He said his son went missing while playing a game with other children at the campground on Thursday, June 20. The family called 911 after searching fruitlessly, according to KSEE.

“They were playing tag, or keep away, or whatever the game was. We were packing up the truck getting ready to leave — at one point we see the kids run over and Christian’s not with them,” Ramirez said.

Related: Missing 5-Year-Old Girl with Autism Found Safe in Florida Woods After Wandering Away from Home

On Friday, June 21, the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office confirmed in a statement that Christian had been found "nestled under a tree near Huntington Lake" by members of the Tulare County Search and Rescue Team.

The boy was around a “quarter mile away” from where he was reported missing.

“He was hungry and exhausted, but otherwise in good health," authorities wrote along with video of the boy being found. "We got him a sandwich and then carried him out to be reunited with Mom and Dad.”

Related: Boy, 4, Rescued After Nearly 22 Hours Wandering Alone in California Woods: 'Family Got Lucky'

Ramirez, his father, told KSEE that "we’re trying to get him to sleep and rest and trying to keep him home so that he can get a little rest for the next couple days.”

He called the family being together again with Christian "the best day of my life" after the "terror" of searching for him while imagining "how cold and hungry and scared he must be."

"For him to be able to hug us back, it really was the best thing I could have ever imagined," Ramirez said.

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“It was pretty clear that he had been lost and he had kind of hunkered down for the entire night,” Fresno County Sheriff’s Lt. Brandon Pursell told local TV station KABC.

“There’s a lot of things that could have gone really, really wrong with this one, and we got lucky," Pursell said. "The family got lucky. The boy is very, very fortunate to be with his family.”

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