HALIFAX, Nova Scotia, Dec. 8 (UPI) -- A 7-year-old autistic Nova Scotia boy rescued after spending two nights in the freezing brush died, hospital officials in Halifax said Tuesday.
James Delorey was airlifted to the IWK Health Center in Halifax Monday afternoon unconscious and in critical condition after a search party found him lying in dense brush about a mile from his home in South Bar, outside Sydney, The (Halifax) Chronicle-Herald reported.
He was found just as his dog Chance showed up at home to lead other searchers to him, reports said.
No information was released about his condition, but hospital officials confirmed Tuesday morning the boy had died, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. reported.
The boy couldn't speak, but searchers who spent two days combing the brush were told to call out "pizza" and the dog's name to elicit a response from him, the newspaper said.
Without a winter coat, the 60-pound boy apparently followed his dog out of the family yard Saturday afternoon.