Missing Children Rescue Guide
All 4 kids — guards, keys, campfire gates, cave loot, and rewards. Updated July 2026.
Verified against the community wiki's Missing Children and Locked Caves pages (fetched 2026-07-02).
99 Nights in the Forest has 4 missing kids to rescue — Dino, Kraken, Squid, and Koala Kid — each locked in a colored-key cave. Kill all the cave's guards (the last one drops the key), open the gate, and carry the kid back in your sack. Every rescue adds +1 to your day-counter multiplier, and rescuing all four earns the Orienteering badge plus 4 diamonds. Caves unlock by campfire level: Dino at Level 2–3, Kraken 3–5, Squid 4–5, Koala at 6.
The Rescue Board
| Kid | Cave Guards | Key | Campfire Unlock | Cave Chests | Tent |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 🦕 Dino Kid | 5 Wolves (red collars) | Red Key | Level 2–3 | Common / Good / Iron (Gold and Ruby at very low chance) | Red |
| 🦑 Kraken Kid | 4 Alpha Wolves (blue collars) | Blue Key | Level 3–5 | Good / Iron / Legendary / Gold / Ruby | Blue |
| 🦑 Squid Kid | 2 Bears (yellow collars) | Yellow Key | Level 4–5 | Legendary / Gold / Ruby | Yellow |
| 🐨 Koala Kid | 6 Bears (black collars) | Grey Key | Level 6 | Gold / Ruby (a Ruby Chest is almost guaranteed in this cave) | Purple |
The last guard you kill at each cave drops its key. Tent order at camp is always the same, no matter when you rescue each kid.
How a Rescue Works, Step by Step
- 1
Upgrade your campfire until the target cave unlocks — Dino Kid at Level 2–3, Kraken at 3–5, Squid at 4–5, Koala only at Level 6.
- 2
Find the cave. Placement is procedural, so use the missing-child posters and compass, and listen for the collared guard pack.
- 3
Kill every guard at the cave. The last guard killed drops the colored key — leaving guards alive means no key.
- 4
Open the cave gate with the key, loot the chests inside (the Koala cave almost guarantees a Ruby Chest), and pick up the kid.
- 5
Carry the kid back to camp in your sack — you'll hear a muffled cry on the way. The kid settles at the campfire edge and pitches their tent, and your day-counter multiplier goes up by +1.
Why the Kids Are Worth the Detour
+1 Multiplier Each
Every rescue permanently raises your day-counter multiplier by +1 for the run. Combined with beds, all four kids push you toward the 9x maximum — the single biggest progression lever in the game.
Orienteering Badge
Rescue all four kids and you earn the Orienteering badge plus 4 diamonds. Prefer the opposite challenge? The Self-Preservation badge (also 4 diamonds) rewards finishing a run with zero rescues.
Cave Loot Scales Up
Chest tiers climb with each cave — the Dino cave holds Common/Good/Iron chests, while the Koala cave almost guarantees a Ruby Chest. Later caves are some of the best loot rooms in the game.
The Four Case Files
Missing Children FAQ
How many missing children are there in 99 Nights in the Forest?
Exactly four, kidnapped by the Deer: the Dino Kid, Kraken Kid, Squid Kid, and Koala Kid. Those are costume nicknames — the wiki notes the kids' real names are not known. Each one is locked in a colored-key cave guarded by wolves or bears.
How do you rescue a kid?
Kill every guard at the kid's cave — the last guard you kill drops the colored key. Open the cave gate with it, then pick the kid up and carry them back in your sack (you'll hear a muffled cry while they're in there). At camp the kid settles at the edge of the campfire and pitches their tent.
What do you get for rescuing the missing children?
Every rescue permanently adds +1 to your day-counter multiplier for the run — with all four kids plus beds you can reach the 9x maximum. Rescuing all four also earns the Orienteering badge and 4 diamonds. On top of that, each cave holds chest loot: the Koala Kid's cave almost guarantees a Ruby Chest.
What order do you rescue the kids in?
The order is gated by your campfire level: the Dino Kid's cave unlocks at Level 2–3, the Kraken Kid's at Level 3–5, the Squid Kid's at Level 4–5, and the Koala Kid's only at Level 6. Their tents always appear at camp in the same fixed order regardless of when you rescue them.
Do you have to rescue the kids to finish the game?
No — skipping them entirely is its own achievement. The Self-Preservation badge (also 4 diamonds) rewards reaching the end of the run without a single rescue. But most runs want the kids: the +1 day multiplier each is one of the strongest permanent boosts available.
What happens if you throw a kid into the Volcano?
Nothing useful — the wiki documents that kids thrown into the Volcano don't count as a sacrifice and simply respawn. Save the lava for cultist and alien bodies.
Where are the kid caves located?
Cave placement is procedurally generated each run, so there are no fixed coordinates. Use the missing-child posters and the in-game compass to find the right direction, and listen for the guard pack — a cluster of collared wolves or bears marks the cave.