'I went to my friend's house': Seven-year-old Gold Coast boy sparked major search when he snuck off to sleepover

A seven-year-old Gold Coast boy has thanked everyone who searched for him, after he unkowingly sparked a major search when he snuck away to a sleepover last night. 

Koby Chandler's parents reported him missing about 4pm yesterday, fearing he had been abducted.

Police, neighbours and SES volunteers scoured the suburb of Southport, with the dog squad and a police helicopter also called in.

However, Koby had spent the night eating pizza at a classmate's house a kilometre away.

"He'd convinced some people around the corner that he was having a sleepover at their place," his father said.

Koby had told his classmate's family that his grandparents lived next door, and said that he had asked his parents' permission to stay over.

He had even been given a piece of paper with his classmate's phone number to give to his parents. 

His classmate's family saw the Amber Alert about Koby when they checked Facebook this morning.

"We got a text saying there's a six-year-old missing from our school, so we checked Facebook this morning and it was the same kid who was here, so yeah, we rang the police straight away," Michael Glynn said.

Koby was taken home in a police car.

"I went to my friend's house," he said upon his return.

Koby's parents said he is in trouble, but have also expressed their thanks to police and neighbours for helping to search for him.