A seven-year-old boy enjoyed pizza with the family of school friends as a massive police search on the Gold Coast was trying to find him.
Police, neighbours and SES volunteers combed Southport on Thursday night after an urgent public appeal for Koby Chandler was issued at 7pm (AEST).
The Southport State School student hadn't been seen since leaving his home around 4pm.
His relieved parents were reunited with Koby after the family he'd spent the night with saw the appeal on Facebook, recognised him and contacted police.
Police said Koby had wandered about a kilometre from his home when he saw friends from school playing in a yard.
He played with them for a couple of hours before being told by the parents of the children he should be heading home.
After telling them he wanted to stay and lived nearby with his grandmother, Koby was given a piece of paper with the family's phone number on it and told to go home and seek permission to spend the night.
He returned some time later saying he'd spoken to his grandmother and been allowed to stay.
He then spent the night at the home, sharing a pizza for dinner and sleeping soundly as the neighbourhood searched for him.
Detective Superintendent Dave Hutchinson said while the circumstances were bizarre, it was a relief that Koby was found safe and well.
"I haven't spoken to them, but I think they were fairly surprised when they saw his face on the computer," Supt Hutchinson said of the family who Koby spent the night with.
"Our child protection investigation unit will have a look at the overall situation in relation to everybody's part in the incident."
Share
