North Carolina boy says he hung out with bear after vanishing from his grandmother's backyard.

[jalan48]

The North Carolina 3-year-old who vanished from his grandmother’s backyard earlier this week said he spent his two days in the woods with a friendly bear.

Casey Lynn Hathaway was found alive just before 9:30 p.m. Thursday, bringing an emergency two-day search for the missing toddler to a close. Rescue workers were following up on a tip about a crying child when they discovered Casey about 40 or 50 yards into a wooded area, tangled up in some brush and calling out for his mother.

The boy had been missing since Tuesday, when he didn’t come inside with the other children he’d been playing with at his grandmothers house in Enrul, located about 100 miles southeast of Raleigh.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/north-carolina-3-year-old-casey-hathaway-says-he-hung-out-with-a-bear-after-he-vanished-from-his-grandmothers-backyard/ar-BBSLY4T?li=BBnbfcL

[ansible]

1. Yeah no, calling BS

No way that kid could've survived the temperatures at night there. And wild bears aren't exactly known to cuddle up with humans.

[jalan48]

2. I had a similar thought. He couldn't explain how he got food and water as well.

[former9thward]

48. Anyone can survive without food and water for two days.

Especially in cooler temperatures.

[Achilleaze]

24. Ahhh, but there are many legends...

[cwydro]

33. One of the days he was missing, it was in the 60s here. The other days were cold.

Winter in NC is a seesaw.

[yardwork]

3. Poor little kid. Somebody had him and turned him loose.

[jalan48]

5. I hope he wasn't harmed if that is the case.

[Mariana]

34. Not likely at all.

You think a kid-snatcher was lurking in the woods when this kid conveniently happened to wander off out of sight of the rest of the family? And then you think the kid-snatcher went back to the same woods, where there were hundreds of people searching and looking for anything unusual, to let the kid go? And when the kid was questioned about what happened while he was missing, he said nothing whatsoever that suggests there was another person involved? You really think that's what happened?

Much more likely the kid just got good and lost, which can happen very quickly in the woods, and being scared and lonely, he summoned an imaginary friend in the form of a bear.

[cwydro]

35. Lol.

Well said.

[yardwork]

36. A three year old was missing for three days in freezing temperatures and pouring rain.

I doubt he was outside the whole time.

[cwydro]

38. I don't think so either.

But I also don’t think there’s some random kid snatcher roaming around.

[Mariana]

41. He found some kind of shelter, most likely.

Kids are resourceful, and a 3 year old is smart enough to seek shelter and warmth if it's available. If he crawled under a fallen tree or dense shrubbery, for example, he could stay dry. A pile of rotting leaves might provide some heat. And so on. When it rained he would have been able to drink some water and avoid dehydration.

[cwydro]

42. I live on a large wooded property in NC.

I suppose it’s possible to find a dry place, but as an adult I’d make a lean-to at least.

A kid couldn’t do that, and a thorny, brambly thicket gives little protection from the rain we had last week.

Anything’s possible though. Except for the friendly bear lol.

[Mariana]

44. The police said they don't think he was there the whole time.

They think he was moving around, and only got stuck in that thicket shortly before he was found. I bet if you look around your property, you'll find places like hollow trees (standing and fallen), deadfalls, overhangs, outcroppings, etc. that stay dry.

[cwydro]

45. Funny you say that, because I've been doing exactly that since this story.

I had to stop looking as an adult lol, and I did find a rock outcropping that might keep a small child dry.

We’ve had so much rain this winter already that everything is soaked.

Lots of brambles on my property also - mostly blackberry bushes...I still can’t understand how a child would willingly go in those thickets. I keep a respectful distance from those thorns.

All that matters is that he’s safe. So nice to find a happy ending for a change.

[Mariana]

46. Most missing kids get found safe

and it never makes the news. Thank goodness.

[Mariana]

40. Apparently, the kid's doctors, the police, and the FBI think otherwise.

I wonder why that is?

[oberliner]

4. Family has set up a GoFundMe page for some reason

[jalan48]

8. I didn't see that initially. It is a bit odd.

[USALiberal]

11. Seems odd. What expenses would of needed that?? nt

[wishstar]

26. He was hospitalized Thurs night, expected release Saturday so there will be expenses

Even if parents have health insurance, they could end up with a bill in the hundreds as even good coverage like Blue Cross leaves nearly $200 per day in copays for hospital stay that the parents will be responsible to pay.

[oberliner]

30. The GoFundMe page does not mention hospital bills or any such expenses

[JI7]

6. was his name baloo ?

[jalan48]

7. I saw that movie.

[Marthe48]

9. Sounds like the books Missing 411

By David Paulides. Full of reports of people going missing in woods or national parks. Many stay missing, many are found dead. I still don't know if the author had a beef, (he mentioned US park service woukdn't release some info) or if he is suggesting a conspiracy, like Bigfoot, but he sure listed a bunch of documented reports.

[underpants]

10. Couple of points

I think the thick brush is going to hold more answers than it seems.

No bear consideration in the searches or when they found him?

600 people couldn't find him 1/2 a mile from where he was last seen?
1/2 a mile is 6 city blocks so let's make a box 6x6. 600 people - probably not all at once - couldn't find him? That he had to be cut out of brush means the area/terrain could answer the previously stated questions.

The human body can withstand a lot. So surviving that is not totally unthinkable.

The human body also does things like hallucination. Stuck in a situation his mind could have gone somewhere in survival mode. Paw Patrol is all dogs but he could have thought there was a bear.

I could image what the family went through. Not going to cast any doubt on the family.

[jalan48]

15. Good points. He's so young he may not be able to separate fact from fiction.

[Hermit-The-Prog]

22. terrain

Where I live, that 1/2 mile radius could swallow many kids where 600 people would have trouble finding them.

100 ft from my back door is near wilderness.

I, too, think the boy's bear may have been in his head.

[cwydro]

39. I had several imaginary friends as a small child.

They all had names. One even went off on vacation to Florida according to my mother.

[d_r]

12. I read about a boy once

In Africa. This was a reading about language development, about Jeanie who had the horrible childhood in California and the wildest of Arvonne and the girls from India who it was said we're raised by wolves. This boy though in Africa, he was four when he was lost. He went missing from his home. When he was found he said that a troop of monkeys cared for him, that took care of him. Some professionals were skeptical. They thought that the colony of monkeys wasn't taking care of him, but that he might have been in the trees under them and eaten what they dropped. Who knows. O read this and understood their skepticism.

[ansible]

13. Baboons have been known to kidnap feral dogs and adopt them

[emulatorloo]

14. Interesting article in Psychology Today about that video

Baboons Might Kidnap Puppies (But Not As Pets)
A primate expert explains the confusion over baboon "pet-keeping."
Posted Jul 13, 2015

https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/animals-and-us/201507/baboons-might-kidnap-puppies-not-pets

[oberliner]

16. Very interesting additional context provided in that article

Sometimes short video clips are not exactly what they may seem to be.

[cwydro]

37. I think that horse has been beaten enough.

Let it go.

[d_r]

17. here is one take on the story

I was thinking about

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk/466616.stm

[Codeine]

18. Some family is looking for their 15 minutes.

Poor manipulated little kid.

[GulfCoast66]

19. Not blaming a 3 year old for a story. But this is total Bullshit.

It’s cold as hell in NC now and ain’t no Beloo wandering around looking for the Bear Neccesities.

And a hungry bear in January would love a 3 year old boy... for food.

Wait a few days for the rest of the story.

Poor little boy. And a strong one at that. We all know how kids imagine and believe crazy things at times to explain things they can’t understand. And the survival urge is stong in all of us.

So glad he is safe.

That said, I would kind of like it if they found him covered with Bear hairs!

[jalan48]

20. Thanks for the post I think you nailed it.

[blue neen]

21. Wouldn't bears be hibernating now?

I dunno.

[BumRushDaShow]

29. THIS

although apparently the species (black bear) roaming in NC has apparently been out and about this month (at least in the Asheville area which is nestled in the western colder mountains) - https://www.citizen-times.com/story/news/local/2019/01/02/black-bear-fatalities-interstate-40-near-asheville-increase-nc-wildlife-resource-commission/2463296002/

So it is probably warmer where this happened on the opposite side of the state closer to the coast (in fact that area probably got walloped by Hurricane Florence over the summer since it is near New Bern, which was extensively covered during that storm).

[Are_grits_groceries]

23. Could be a big dawg.

Weird story but don’t totally discount what he says. Look at it from a 3-year old’s angle if possible.

My cousins and I used to hide in the woods. You can really get into dense areas of brush and other plants. A little kid could make his way inside some of those places. That area is somewhat like my surroundings.

[highplainsdem]

32. Seriously could be. A chow chow or Great Pyrenees, or any number of other breeds.

Former neighbor had chow chows that were incredibly gentle around both her baby and tiny kittens.

[Achilleaze]

25. Romulus, Remus, and WolfMom salute Casey & Bear Buddy

Why do you all hate interspecies relationships?

[betsuni]

27. Saved by a Bear, a story from Suzuki Bokushi's "Snow Country Tales."

Guy falls downhill while collecting firewood in winter and finds a cave: "As I groped a bit further, my fingertips felt what could only be -- a bear! I was frightened to death. ... 'Sir Bear,' I stammered, 'I am only a fellow who went out to collect firewood and fell into this valley ... but if you have mercy, help.' And I stroked the bear all the while ... . In a moment it was beside me and nudged me with its rear end. When I sat down where the bear had been, what warmth! It was like a hearth, and as my whole body grew warm and I forgot the cold I thanked the bear profusely and begged it again to save me ... . At this the bear raised its paw and softly pressed it to my mouth several times. Recalling that bears live off a store of crushed ants in the winter, I licked the paw and found the taste sweet, but a little sharp. After licking the paw several times I felt refreshed and my thirst was quenched. ... Realizing that the bear was going to save me, I was greatly relieved. I lay down back to back with the bear and thought only of returning to my village, not the least bit sleepy. Then before I knew it I was asleep, too."

[no_hypocrisy]

28. The Greek myth of Atalanta

According to the myth, she was abandoned on a mountainside by her father where the infant was found by a she-bear and adopted. The baby grew into a girl and into a woman, trained as a hunter by the bear family. Atalanta was the only woman participating in the hunt for the Corinthian Boar. Later, her human family reclaimed her but she would not marry unless a man could win a foot race with her. You likely know her legend better as the woman who lost a race to marry because her competitor threw three golden apples at her feet.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atalanta

[panader0]

31. Galway Kinnell--'The Bear'

I saw this guy recite his poems years ago in Tucson. This poem stuck with me.

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/42679/the-bear

[EX500rider]

43. Picture of the bear:

[jalan48]

49. ..

[Beakybird]

47. GoFundMe for the bear!