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A teenage boy from Britain was rescued after losing his way in a Thai jungle for two weeks, surviving on insects and tree bark while attempting to cross into Myanmar.
It was originally feared that Lawrence Stallard Honour, 19, was lured into a scam compound, after he went missing on September 27.
The computer whiz was last seen leaving a hotel in Kanchanaburi, west Thailand, triggering a frantic search by local police near the border.
He was found at a temple in the area on Saturday, reportedly having survived in the forest for ten days by consuming ants and tree bark.
Police Colonel Santi Phithaksakul, head of Sangkhla Buri Police Station, mentioned receiving information on Monday, October 13, about the boy being found alive at the Wat Tham Sawan Bandan temple.
He said: ‘The interrogation revealed that Mr. Lawrence intended to go to Payathonzu in Karen State, Myanmar.
‘He had planned to go through the Three Pagodas border pass on September 27, but the checkpoint had already closed.’
Lawrence was then taken to a resort, but he was unable to check in as he had no money to afford a room.
He had charged his phone before setting off – but he lost his way in a forest as darkness fell.
A British teenager was rescued after losing his way in a Thai jungle for two weeks, subsisting on insects and tree bark while trying to cross into Myanmar.
It was originally feared that Lawrence Stallard Honour, 19, was lured into a scam compound, after he went missing on September 27
When he first went missing, his mother Gulnara filed a report at the Pattaya City Police Station
Alone and bewildered, the young boy recounted wandering the forest for days, traversing tough terrain as he looked for insects and tree bark for sustenance.
He eventually stumbled his way back to the Wat Tham Kaew Sawan Bandan temple, where he was rescued by the One Sky Foundation on October 11.
Officials said there were no signs the boy had been abused or trafficked.
His British father, Julian Honour, and mother, Gulnara Fattakhova, have collected him from the rescue team.
When he first went missing, his mother Gulnara filed a report at the Pattaya City Police Station.
She told officers: ‘I checked my son’s email and found records of his movements in Kanchanaburi province, which was very worrying.
‘He’s a very shy and quiet boy but he is excellent with computers.
‘I’m concerned that he might have communicated with people online and been deceived into heading to one of these scam operations in Myanmar, where they prevent individuals from leaving.’
His British father, Julian Honour, and mother, Gulnara Fattakhova, have collected him from the rescue team
Alone and disoriented, the youngster claimed he wandered the woods for days, trekking through rough terrain as he scavenged for bugs and tree bark to survive
PICTURED: Thai police search for missing British Lawrence Stallard Honour, 19
PICTURED: His mother Gulnara, who told officers she feared he had been tricked into going to a ‘scam centre’ in Myanmar
Authorities have not yet clarified why Lawrence had been trying to cross over into Myanmar.
Myanmar, formerly Burma, was plunged into armed conflict and civil war when democratically elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi was removed by a military coup in February 2021.
In the lawless environment, methampetamine production has flourished alongside call centre scam compounds operated by gangs that target people around the world with financial and romance scams.
In September 2025, the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) identified nine targets operating in Shwe Kokko, Myanmar, along with ten entities in Cambodia, for their roles in large-scale scam operations.
The OFAC also imposed sanctions on the Karen National Army (KNA) and its leader Saw Chit Thu (and his sons), for involvement in cyber scams, human trafficking, and smuggling.
Serious human rights concerns have also been raised about how the centres are staffed.
Reports from the United Nations, NGOs, and regional governments show that the way the gangs recruit, transport, and control workers often amounts to human trafficking and forced labour.
Evidence shows that the workers are often subjected to trafficking, cross-border abductions, forced labor and slavery-like conditions, physical abuse, torture, debt bondage and extortion.
