The 3-year-old boy who was allegedly kidnapped on Sunday morning in Lijiang city, Yunnan province, was found safe and sound after 45 hours of searching. Two kidnapping suspects were under arrest, local police said in a statement on Tuesday morning.

Police in Yongsheng county said they received a call around 10:30 am on Sunday saying that a boy was seen being led into a white van by a woman while playing near his home in Yongbei township.

Officers immediately started a search, inspecting vehicles and people in the area.

The boy was found in a cave in a mountain in the township around 7 am on Wednesday. He is in good health and has been united with his family, according to the statement.

A man, 51, and a woman, 56, both from Yongbei, were arrested. The white van used during the alleged abduction was also seized. The case is being investigated, it added.

The boy's father, surnamed Feng, said his 6-year-old daughter witnessed the abduction. She chased the van and demanded the woman free her brother, he told local media.

He and his wife had left the children with their grandparents on Sunday morning before going to work, Feng said.

The grandmother took the children with her to herd cattle, but left them unattended while she rounded up some cattle that strayed, Feng added.