A three-year-old boy who survived two nights alone in the woods in freezing conditions has told police and family that a friendly bear was with him the whole time. Casey Hathaway was found on Thursday night tangled in thorny bushes, cold and soaked but otherwise safe, after going missing on Tuesday.
The boy had been playing with two other children in his grandmother's backyard in Ernul, North Carolina, but did not come back inside with them. The subsequent search involved helicopters, drones, K-9 units, divers and hundreds of volunteers, but was temporarily called off as weather conditions deteriorated.
Craven County Sheriff Chip Hughes said Casey told them he had a friend in the woods that was a bear. The claim was repeated by the boy's aunt, Breanna Hathaway, who wrote on Facebook: “He said he hung out with a bear for two days. God sent him a friend to keep him safe.”
Temperatures had fallen to below 0C, and Casey was not dressed for the cold. By Thursday, wind and rain had become so severe that authorities urged volunteers to stay away. Hughes described the boy as “a survivor”, noting that rescuers had to wade through waist-high water to reach him.
Casey, who stands at just 2ft 2in, escaped with only a few scrapes. Sheriff Hughes said the boy simply wanted some water and his mother after his ordeal.
