A 44-year-old man practicing witchcraft in Thailand abducted one-year-old Pornsiri Wongsilarung and hid her in a cave deep in the forest for three days before being rescued by the authorities.

She was abducted right outside of the family home by the kidnapper who intended to sacrifice her to the forest spirits. More than 200 police officers and volunteers conducted the search whereas sniffer dogs, aerial search drones and a diving team helped as additional assistance as the massive team searched high and low.

The little girl was finally found after three days, covered in insect bites and appeared to be exhausted. When interrogated, the kidnapper defended himself, saying: " "The forest spirits were telling me to sacrifice a child to the ghost, so I carried Gina and left her in front of the cave. I did not kill her."

The mother, Malee broke down in tears when the rescue team finally found her. The kidnapper has since been detained in custody on the charges of kidnapping a child.