3-Year-Old Boy Says He ‘Hung out with a Bear’ for Two Days While Stranded in the Woods

If the safest place to hide from the police is on top of the police station, then it would seem to follow that the best way to stay safe in the woods would be to hang with the biggest, baddest bosses in the woods.

That theory was recently put into practice by a 3-year-old boy in North Carolina, and he lived to tell the tale.

Little Casey Hathaway was playing at his grandmother’s yard with two other children in rural North Carolina on Tuesday when, at some point, he left the yard and disappeared into the nearby woods. Casey was found by authorities two days later after a massive search of the area.

The story would have been cool enough if it had just ended there. However, what Casey told his aunt about how he spent his time in the woods, and more importantly, who he spent his time with, is even better.

“He said he hung out with a bear for two days,” Breanna Hathaway wrote on Facebook. “God sent him a friend to keep him safe. God is good God. Miracles do happen.”

In a press conference, Craven County Sheriff Chip Hughes said that the 3-year-old was found in thorn bushes and vines. The sheriff also explained that Casey’s spirits were raised when he got reunited with his sister.

“It was a very touching moment,” the Hughes said.

The sheriff also confirmed what Casey said about his time in the woods: “He did say that he had a friend in the woods that was a bear that was with him.”

Ironically, Casey’s aunt relayed that one the child’s favorite shows is Masha and the Bear. A story about a girl who lives in the forest and is protected by a bear.

According to Wide Open Spaces, “Black bears are the only species found in North Carolina, and the most recent numbers from the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission state there are about 17,000 in the state.”

Follow Dylan Gwinn on Twitter @themightygwinn