An 18-year-old boy found by his father after being lost in the Amazon rain forest for six weeks died in his father's arms moments later.

Jonathan dos Santos Alves went missing after becoming separated from friends. One report said the boys were hunting, another said they were looking for waterfalls while camping on May 11, the last day they saw their friend alive.

The search was called off after only 72 hours, but the boy's father, a local farmer, continued to look for his son on his own with the assistance of friends and relatives. Finally, he found Jonathan Saturday morning lying near a river.

Edilson dos Santos, 40, told the local Folha de Sao Paulo newspaper that when he found his son the boy was dehydrated, emaciated and covered in insect bites. He said he cradled his son in his arms and shooed the bugs away from his mouth, then the boy "gritted his teeth and died."

Over the weekend, Edilson placed his son's corpse in a tree to keep animals from eating it until a helicopter arrived to remove the body.

Jonathan was found in a relatively unexplored area of the Amazon rain forest, 27 miles from where he lost his friends.