Toddler - who spent days wandering woods - leaves hospital

(CNN) - A 3-year-old Missouri boy who survived about 50 hours alone in the woods was released from a hospital over the weekend, beaming and blowing kisses.

Joshua Childers slipped away from home on May 4 and wandered in the rugged terrain of the Mark Twain National Forest in rural Missouri. His father was asleep and his mother was on the phone when he left, wearing a T-shirt and a diaper.

The boy was found Wednesday after a volunteer scouring the woods heard him crying about three miles from home, authorities said. Hundreds of people had searched for him.

Joshua was hospitalized with hypothermia, bruises and dozens of insect bites, CNN television affiliate KSDK reported.

"The fact that the child survived the exposure to begin with, it's miraculous as far as I'm concerned," his doctor Steven Crawford told KSDK.

Joshua shared some of his experiences in the woods, Crawford said.

"He did tell me that he drank stream water," Crawford said. "It was cold and he didn't sleep much. He did talk about a dog."

The family's dog disappeared when Joshua did and reappeared about the time he was found, KSDK reported, adding that the boy was found with two other dogs that might have scared away the family pet.

"One of our initial concerns was, how can a 35-pound child stay alive two nights in the rain, 40-degree temperatures?" Crawford said. "That [the dogs] may be the answer."

It was not the first time Joshua had slipped away.

At least one other time, his parents were able to catch him before he reached the forest, which has jagged hills, cliffs, volcanic mountains and black bears.

Joshua's father, Adam Childers, said he is not planning to let the toddler out of his sight.

"I think somebody mentioned LoJack for a kid," he said.