An 11-year-old Boy Scout who was lost in the mountains of Utah for four days was released from hospital Wednesday. Brennan Hawkins was found Tuesday and taken to Primary Children's Medical Centre in Salt Lake City, where doctors kept him overnight.

"We received a clean bill of health from the Primary Children's hospital last night," Toby Hawkins, the boy's father, told reporters Wednesday. "We're still working on some issues. This is all very overwhelming for him and for us. We just want to get a sense of normalcy back in our family."

The boy was found Tuesday morning, several kilometers from search grids, by a man on an all-terrain vehicle.

"I turned a corner and there was a kid standing in the middle of the trail," said searcher Forrest Nunley. "He was all muddy and wet."

Hawkins was part of a Boy Scout camp in the Uinta Mountains. He disappeared without food or water on his way to meet a friend. Officials are unsure how he managed to survive for four days.

"Thank heavens that Brennan happens to like that little 'midget-mode,'" Toby Hawkins told reporters, referring to his son's tendency to crouch and tuck his legs inside his sweat shirt. "Brennan likes to get into that 'midget-mode' and it keeps him warm."

At one point Hawkins had seen searchers on horseback but was too scared to approach them, said Nunley.

According to the boy's mother, he avoided the searchers because, as he said, "I didn't want anyone to steal me."

Officials say Hawkins was difficult to find because he climbed up-hill instead of down, where the search grids were organized. The search had involved thousands of volunteers, as well as helicopters with infrared devices.

"Typically children walk downhill, along the least path of resistance," said Sheriff Dave Edmunds.

It is unknown exactly how Hawkins became lost, although the boy's parents told reporters he has a poor sense of direction.

"He was in no mood to give us some details," said Edmunds. "He just wanted to eat and see his Mom."

Hawkins was born premature and the family worried about his ability to survive in the wilderness. When he was found he seemed to be in good spirits, and asked his mother about some Pokemon cards he had ordered on the Internet.

One of the people who helped organize the search was Kevin Bardsley, whose own son, Garrett Bardsley, was lost in the same region in August 2004 but never found.