Two young boys have been found dehydrated but unharmed after spending a night apparently wandering lost in the bush in north Queensland.
The pair, play mates and neighbours, were found in dense scrub on the southern outskirts of Townsville at about 2pm on Sunday.
They had been missing for just short of 24 hours, after being last seen in the street nearby their homes in Wulguru on Saturday afternoon.
"They are both talking, a little bit dehydrated and have a couple of scratches, which you would expect after a night out in the country, but apart from that they both seem in good spirits," Acting Inspector Chris Lawson told the Townsville Bulletin.
"As part of the ongoing processes, our detectives will speak with them and try to find out exactly what happened."
Nicholas Baxter, 6, was found wandering in bushland at about 2pm.
Five-year-old Timmy Carter was found shortly after about 500 metres away.
Both boys didn't have shoes on when they were last seen and Timmy was not wearing a shirt.
The search had included SES crews, rescue helicopters, police and about 100 soldiers from a nearby defence base.
The boys' scooter and a tricycle were found at about 8.30pm on Saturday on a dirt track, leading police to believe they had wandered off into thick scrub and got lost.
Insp Lawson said the boys had walked about 3km into the bush bordering their suburb, and soldiers found them not far from a fence denoting defence land.
Their families greeted news of their discovery with "a lot of relief".
"They'll get to spend the night home tonight in bed," Insp Lawson said.
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