TASHKENT, March 1 (RIA Novosti) - A teenager has been found in Uzbekistan's mountainous region eight years after he was reported missing in 1998, local prosecutors said Thursday.

"The boy acts like a wild animal. He is afraid of everything, cannot speak and only makes snarling sounds," prosecutors said, adding that he was found by road construction workers.

Experts identified the boy after studying photographs dating back to 1998. His parents recognized the boy, singling him out from among several other teenagers in a lineup.

Prosecutors said the boy would be returned to his family following a course of rehabilitation.

"The boy is being taught to speak and live among people. Experts are also trying to find out where and how he survived all these years," prosecutors said.

It is unclear where the boy could have lived in the wilderness in the Central Asian state's densely populated central region of Samarkand.