A moving reunion took place between 4-year-old Yuval Kogan and the search teams who found him safe and unharmed at Nitzanim Beach after 27 hours of intensive searches.
One volunteer who held Yuval in his arms praised the child, telling him: “You are the hero of the People of Israel. Because of you, you united the entire nation. You did something that hasn’t happened here in decades, something that no one in the Knesset managed to do. You are the king of the world."
Shortly after being located, Yuval spoke with a child investigator and provided a detailed account of what happened from the moment he became separated from his father and sisters until he was found. According to police, the conversation did not raise any suspicion that Yuval had been with another person or that any criminal activity had taken place.
During the search, rumors circulated online suggesting that Yuval’s disappearance could have been connected to his father Dmitry’s work as a lawyer. Some claims alleged, without evidence, that the child had been taken by individuals linked to criminal organizations because of a legal case involving his father. Police have firmly rejected those claims.