Police said the Lake Country RCMP received multiple reports of a 10- to 12-year-old child seen walking northbound along Highway 97 from the Husky gas station in Lake Country. The reports said that the child did not seem appropriately dressed for the sub-zero temperatures and appeared disoriented, said police in a release.   

"A concerned Lake Country resident found the disoriented boy wandering on his property, noted that his hands were cold, his clothing was wet, and immediately called police. He brought the boy inside his home in order to warm up and get some water to drink," Kelowna RCMP Const. Kris Clark said.

Police later reunited the boy with his parents and learned he has special needs.

"The boy's parents were in the Lake Country area at a church function and believed him to be in his class when he had actually wandered off. When his parent's realised that he was not in class as expected, they were relieved to hear that he had been located so quickly," said Clark.

"Thanks to the assistance of the concerned citizen, tragedy was avoided as the boy did not realise the danger in which he had placed himself."