Casey Hathaway, age three, vanished in Ernul, a small hamlet in North Carolina, the scene of this tragedy. He left the house to play with friends and never came back. The child was not dressed adequately, and the weather turned frigid. Drones and aircraft were promptly sent by a rescue squad to begin a search.

Rescuers asked volunteers to cease the hunt for their safety as the temperature dropped much further. The boy finally started weeping in the evening. Amidst prickly shrubs, Casey was discovered, drenched and chilled, yet crucially, unscathed except from a few scrapes.

Subsequently, the boy disclosed that he had a bear buddy in the woods who provided him with warmth and assistance. The youngster pleaded to be taken to his mother and asked the rescuers for a drink. He told his aunt the same bear story, and she thought the child’s survival might have been a miracle brought about by supernatural intervention.

Later, Sheriff Chip Hughes said that the youngster had to wade across a body of freezing water that was nearly shoulder-high for adults. It is still unclear how the toddler, who is only a meter tall, was able to swim there.

Black bears, more especially the American black bear, are common in this area. They would far rather avoid humans than assault them.