Toddler Lost In Woods For 2 Days, Says Animal Saved Him
A Difficult Time
Casey Hathaway was alone, lost in the woods. It was January in North Carolina and the weather was harsh. It was the middle of winter, and it was freezing cold outside.
When Casey had gone missing, his family was obviously distraught and worried sick. After two nights a miracle happened. The little boy was found alive. Nobody understood how he managed to survive until he told a story that left everyone speechless.
Just A Kid
Facebook – Locate The Missing
Casey Hathaway was a regular kid from a small town. He loved riding his bike, playing with his cousins, and exploring. And he loved his grandmother’s home, which was perfect for an adventurous child.
The old woman’s backyard led into the woods, with big patches of land to explore. The problem was that Casey was only 3 years old.
A Small Town
Mapio.net
Casey lived with his family in Craven County, North Carolina. The place had a population of just over 100000 and was well-known for its incredible history. The region was involved in the civil war, and its rich history goes back hundreds of years.
The county holds many beautiful attractions and awesome nature trails, such as Creekside Park and the Croatan National Forest. However, it is also famous for a much more concerning reason.
Wildlife
gothunts.com
According to experts in the area’s wildlife, the region has one of the highest populations of black bears. Its forests are packed with dangerous animals and no one should go hiking there without precautions.
Actually, there have been a lot of reports of black bears wandering into people’s properties and even their homes. When these kinds of close encounters become common, it will not take long before something terrible happened.
An Usual Day
Oxygen
Nothing seemed to warn them of the incident that was about to happen soon. It was a normal day at the Hathaway home. Casey was playing with his cousins outside and wandered a bit too far into the wood behind the grandma’s yard.
In the beginning, the family believed that the boy was just hiding or playing some game. But as the time passed, they realized that Casey was not playing. He was actually missing.
Waiting
Sun Journal – Gray Whitley
The worried family couldn’t accept the facts in the beginning. It was too difficult. Not wanting to waste police resources, they waited for an hour and searched the premises on their own the best they could.
But that wasn’t enough. The family was deeply concerned when they couldn’t find any sign of the child. They realized it was time to call for help.
Beginning The Search
Sun Journal – Gray Whitley via AP
It didn’t take long before Casey’s story made a lot of people join the search. Besides local police, there were also marines, the FBI, and other agencies helping out with the search. Everyone was committed to finding the little boy.
But as time passed, Casey’s family began to fear the worst. Even with all that help, an entire day passed and the little boy was still missing.
Big Concerns
AP
By the next day, all the people who were searching tried to stay positive. There was however a big concern. Law enforcement personnel knew that in such cases time was of high importance.
But everyone was beginning to lose hope already. It was known by everyone that, statistically, the chances of finding a missing child dropped a lot if they weren’t found within the first day. It was now more than 48 hours since the boy disappeared.
His Chances
Facebook – Craven County Sheriff_s Office
It was the third day already and another looming threat was on everyone’s minds. It was the middle of winter, and temperatures were freezing cold. And on top of that, it had been raining heavily the past two nights. Things didn’t look too good.
Casey’s family was devastated by the thought that their little boy was out there all alone. It seemed impossible at that point for the child to survive against all these unfavorable odds.
The Search Was Still Going
Sun Journal – Gray Whitley via AP
Not wanting to give up, Casey’s family and the authorities widened the search area to cover more ground. Teams of people went through every foot of land, scouting the deep woods.
Still no sign of the child. No one dared to say it, but things were beginning to feel hopeless. It seemed like all their efforts were in vain. Then something very unusual happened.
He Was Found
Facebook – Craven County Sheriff_s Office
Incredibly, Casey was found huddled in a thicket deep inside the woods. He was understandably freezing cold and very scared but, somehow, seemed to be okay.
After being taken to the hospital, warmed up, and treated for minor scrapes, everyone was curious to hear how the toddler had survived two nights alone in the freezing cold. What he said shocked everyone.
A Bear
Faith It
According to Casey, he hung out “with a bear” for two nights, and it helped keep him warm and safe. Everyone was understandably shocked to hear this.
Whatever the truth was, Casey’s family and the entire community were just relieved to have him back in one piece. The little boy was a walking miracle. The big question was whether his story about the bear was true?
More Questions
Sun Journal – Gray Whitley via AP
There certainly were a lot of bears in the area, so it wasn’t beyond the realm of possibility that he’d encountered one. Still, it seemed so incredible that it was hard to believe that the press and community had many questions with no answers.
While there was no way to confirm his story, the fact that he’d survived in such frigid temperatures did leave many questions. There was also the fact that this wasn’t the first time such a story had been reported.
Strange Phenomenon
Olga Barantseva – Caters News
Way back in 1880, the New York Times reported on the story of a 2-year-old girl who was lost in the wilderness. Her story took place in the Kootenai National Forest in Montana.
However, strangely, she also claimed to have been “comforted by a bear” while there. No matter how far-fetched it seemed, there was, therefore, a possibility that Casey was telling the truth.
Happy Family
Facebook – Craven County Sheriff_s Office
We may never know the truth about whether young Casey really was saved by a bear or not. Regardless, his survival was still a miraculous one. After such a nightmarish ordeal, his family was just grateful he was safe. The family had narrowly avoided a catastrophe, and bear or no bear, Casey was indeed one lucky little boy.
In order to protect the privacy of those depicted, some names, locations, and identifying characteristics have been changed and are products of the author’s imagination. Any resemblances to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, are entirely coincidental.
