Four-year-old Ireyomi Olaoluwa, who went missing on January 1 at Elegushi Beach in Lagos, has been found.

Olaoluwa, was taken to the beach by his family to celebrate the new year. However, midway into the celebration, he was discovered to have been nowhere around his loved ones.

His disappearance, truncated the celebration as family members including other fun seekers combed everywhere in search of him.

Family friends immediately took to social media, posting his photograph, to announce his disappearance and an appeal to whoever found him to reach the nearest police station.

The attention of operators of the beach was attracted by the search parties. One of the fun-seekers, Ochie Nwoye, said: “Although nobody claimed to have seen any child walking towards the waves but those who could swim and local divers swam , looking for the child, whom they thought could have drowned.

“Other families who came with their children, quickly called them together and left the beach.“

However, a family source told Vanguard that the boy had been found.

The family source said:  “We give God praise. He has been found. He strayed from his family while the celebration was on.

“His birthday comes up on January 18. It would have been a disaster for the family had he not been found.”