A YOUNG British traveller who was feared to have been lured into a scam compound run by organised crime gangs has been found safe, two weeks after he vanished into the Thai jungle.
Lawrence Stallard Honour, 19, has been located after 10 days of surviving in the forest by eating ants and tree bark near lawless Myanmar.
He was found at a temple in Kanchanaburi, Thailand on Saturday.
The computer whiz went missing after being last seen leaving his hotel in the province on September 27.
His disappearance sparked a desperate search by Thai police near the border.
Police Colonel Santi Phithaksakul, Superintendent of Sangkhla Buri Police Station, was notified on Monday that the boy had been found alive.
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“The interrogation revealed that Mr. Lawrence intended to go to Payathonzu in Karen State, Myanmar,” Phithaksakul said.
“He had planned to go through the Three Pagodas border pass on September 27, but the checkpoint had already closed.”
Lawrence had been taken to a resort after he had been barred from crossing the border, but was unable to check into a room as he had no money.
He’d charged his phone before setting off, but lost his way in the jungle as darkness fell.
Alone and disoriented, the teen claimed he’d wandered through the forest for days, trekking through the rough terrain and scavenging for bugs and tree bark to survive.
Lawrence eventually stumbled across the Wat Tham Kaew Sawan Bandan temple, where he was rescued by the One Sky Foundation on Saturday.
Officials say there were no signs the boy had been abused or trafficked.
His British father Julian Honour, and mother Gulnara Fattakhova, were there to collect him from the rescue team.
An investigation was launched to search for the missing teen after he was seen leaving a hotel in Kanchanaburi, western Thailand, on September 27.
His distraught mother had filed a report with the Pattaya City Police Station.
She’d told police: “I checked my son’s email and found records of his movements in Kanchanaburi province, which was very worrying”.
“He’s a very shy and quiet boy but he is excellent with computers,” she added.
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“I’m afraid that he has spoken to people online and be tricked into going to one of these scam centres in Myanmar, where they don’t let people leave.”
Authorities are still unsure why he was trying to cross the border.