Japanese boy disappears after parents leave him in forest

Rescuers serach for a 7-year-old boy who is missing in a Japanese forest in Nanae town, on Hokkaido, the northernmost of Japan's four main islands Monday, May 30, 2016. He has been missing since late Saturday afternoon after his parents reportedly made him get out of the car as punishment. (Kyodo News via AP) JAPAN OUT, MANDATORY CREDIT (The Associated Press)

Rescuers on horseback search for a 7-year-old boy who is missing in a Japanese forest in Nanae town, on Hokkaido, the northernmost of Japan's four main islands Monday, May 30, 2016. He has been missing since late Saturday afternoon after his parents reportedly made him get out of the car as punishment. (Ichinoshin Matsuhashi/Kyodo News via AP) JAPAN OUT, MANDATORY CREDIT (The Associated Press)

A 7-year-old boy is missing in a Japanese forest after his parents reportedly made him get out of the car as punishment.

Rescue workers resumed searching Monday in a wooded area on Hokkaido, the northernmost of Japan's four main islands. He has been missing since late Saturday afternoon.

Japanese media say the parents initially told police that their son had disappeared while they were picking wild vegetables, but they later admitted they had made him get out of the car to punish him for throwing rocks while playing at a river earlier in the day.

Japan's Kyodo News service says the father returned a few minutes later but the boy was gone.