KEY POINTS

  • 4 children were reported missing failing to come home from a snow-machine ride
  • 7-year-old Ethan Camille was with his cousins when they got lost
  • Camille said they dug a hole and spent the night inside thier makeshift shelter
  • The boys risked their lives to protect their 2-year-old cousin
  • They were rescued the next day about 20 miles outside Nunam Iqua

Even at a young age, a 7-year-old boy and his cousins survived a horrid blizzard in rural Alaska by digging a hole to shield them from the nasty weather.

Ethan Camille and his cousins Christopher Johnson, 14; Frank Johnson, 8, and Trey Camille, 2, were reported missing Sunday after a snow-machine ride from Nunam Iqua, said KTVA.

Alaska State Troopers received a call at 6:25 p.m. when the children failed to return from their ride. Officers were then dispatched after they were “more than five hours late in returning home,” according to ABC 17.

Blizzard of 2006
Satellite image of the 2006 blizzard. NASA

Ethan, who spoke to KTVA from Alaska Native Medical Center where he was being treated for frostbite on his fingers, recalled how he and his cousins survived the blizzard.

“First, we were trying to find a way home, and we got cold,” he said.

Despite being lost and cold, the children remained calm.

Ethan added that they dug a hole and spent the night inside their makeshift shelter.

His mother, Irene, said that they wanted to protect their two-year-old cousin “till the end.” Christopher wanted to hold the toddler in the hole, so Ethan moved to the doorway to make enough room.

“That's why he's got all these frostbite, to help protect from the cold.

“They sacrificed their health, their everything to make sure the baby would make it,” he added.

The boys were rescued the next day about 20 miles outside Nunam Iqua, said CNN.

Christopher was brought to Providence Medical Center while his brothers Frank and Trey are back at home, said KTVA.

RELATED STORIES
Blizzard