HENNIKER — A 3 1/2 year old boy wandered into the woods and was lost for more than four hours before a farmer found him safe but scared near his barn.

The boy and his family were visiting friends when the child went into the woods after playing in the yard around 10:30 a.m. Monday.

The Henniker Police and Fire Department, Hillsborough Police and New Hampshire Fish and Game conservation officers searched the heavily-wooded area for hours and alerted neighbors to the lost child.

Farmer Raymond Aucoin heard about the search around noon, then noticed a crying child on his property at about 2:30.

“I asked him if he was lost. I couldn’t understand him that good,” Aucoin said Monday night. “I asked if he wanted to see his mommy and daddy.”

Aucoin put the boy in his car and drove to back to the residence where he had been visiting. The boy’s parents were not aware he had been found until Aucoin arrived.

“They were pretty happy to get him,” Aucoin said. “His parents came up later on in the afternoon to say thanks.”

Aucoin said the boy traveled between 1 1/2 to 2 miles through thick woods before arriving at Aucoin’s farm.

“He traveled quite a ways. There are some snowmobile trails out there. I don’t know how he got here,” Aucoin said.