Three-Year-Old Boy Missing in Woods for 2 Days says Friendly Bear Kept Him Safe

Doesn't sound like he would survive unless something warm was taking care of him and keeping him warm. Why not a bear?

Can't they test his clothes for bear dna or something.

It was a forest spirit.

Sweet story. Every once in a while something happens to make you realise that we are so lucky to share the planet with other creatures.

That bear was his guardian angel - stranger things have happened.

Just so glad that the little boy was found safe and sound.

They think the boy was imagining it ? why would a kid make something like that up? Plus he is only three, would a child that young know enough to make up a story like that?

Throughout questioning he hasn't changed his story which makes it seem so real, especially given he's only three years old. When asked how the bears kept him warm he replied "No, it was one bear, a furry bear who kept me warm." From what I could see it doesn't seem like he's making it up because his story is consistent and doesn't change. But would a bear actually do that; cuddle a child to keep him warm and from freezing to death? I've heard horror stories of bears attacking hikers who were not provoking them in any way.

And where was this bear when he was found, crying, tangled up in a thorn bush, by a woman walking her dog? Did he just walk away from the bear? Whatever actually happened this could have ended badly so I am really glad of the happy ending and he was found safe and unharmed.

The kid watched the TV show about a bear who watches over this girl in the woods.

^ But then how did he survive the freezing temps 2 nights in a row and in the cold all day with no food or water. He was only dressed for a short time outside to play, wearing a regular hooded winter jacket and gloves. He was not dressed for freezing temps or for being out in the woods for 2 nights. How else can it be explained. He's only 3, he's tiny and doesn't have a lot of body fat. Wouldn't he have gotten pneumonia or froze to death if something didn't keep him warm?

Maybe it was a DL "bear".

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Give it time. There was no bear.

I think he mentally dissociated during this traumatic event, and his mind created the bear fantasy.

It was a bigfoot, not a bear.

Kid definitely got Squatched. Happens all the time.

That boy would not survive, if something didn't keep him warm. It was a miracle. Yogi and Boo Boo, on the case..

Or Jack Martini

This is a friendly bear

Animals seem to sense a defenseless baby or child... and maybe their protection instinct kicks in. If you have a pet, like a dog or cat, you notice how they are more tolerant with children, when they pull their tail, or provoke them. I don't know. Why would a three year old make this up, when questioned a few times. It could be possible?

Sone people have suggested that it could have been a big dog, which makes sense. Dogs have been known to guard children that were lost in the woods before. Usually those dogs know the children in advance though.

But where is the dog then? Was it a stray? A dog that lived nearby and was allowed to wander untethered in bad weather?

Could the “bear” be something else? A coyote maybe? But they might eat children as small as this.

Animals that are nursing babies often will take in an animal of a different species, as long as they’re nursing, because they are flooded with hormones. So there could be a mother animal with some cubs, or whose cubs died and this kid was a temporary replacement. A lot of animals will react to the sound of a crying baby in distress.

I read somewhere that if you catch a mother animal right in the middle of feeding cubs, she will accept other species. But a few weeks later, she will eat it.

I doubt bears are nursing in January. A dog. A wolf. Why not a bear though, just a fluke.

This bear was sent by GOD.

In any case, that child definitely had a guardian angel in some way, or form.

Why does the kid need a go fundme? Family probably made the bear part up to garner news

Yet another reason to hate Isis.

I suddenly dislike this story:

Casey and the Bear, Casey is the most amazing 3 year I have ever met. This little one was lost in the woods for days in the freezing temperatures, rain, dark nights and wind. He told us that his best friend the bear was with him to help keep him safe. Thanks to God's mercy he came home to us alive and well. His parents searched diligently minute after minute of every hour/day without stopping. Our supportive followers of this story has asked for a GoFundMe page be created for the family. This is reason for setting up the page. I am Casey's paternal grandmother aka Memaw to him. I am Casey's dad's mom. So many of the public followers have asked for a GoFundMe for Casey and his family. I WANT TO MAKE THIS PERFECTLY CLEAR THIS IS NOT A REQUEST FROM FAMILY. THIS HORRIFIC EVENT WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED FOR PERSONAL GAIN. We as the family dont EXPECT donations. Any funds raised will be going towards potential medical expenses after Casey's return. All funds raised will be used to make sure Casey is healthy, comfortable, and safe after enduring this traumatic experience. So on the behalf of the PUBLIC'S request only here it is.

That statement makes zero sense to me. Maybe I need to have a lower gofundme-friendly IQ?

This family seems shady.

Mightve been a bunny?

Yeah.. The GoFundMe ruins the story.

Aww so cute story until the gofundme ....

The whole thing is a false flag operation. The Carolinas have a terrible kidnapping problem and a bevy of black bears are believed to be responsible. Be aware!

He was out playing and didn't come in with the other kids? Who was watching this little boy? SMDH

It was an Angel👼 Angels typically appear to children in a friendly form they would recognize, ala a bear.

Was it this bear?

Did the bear have wings?

Why wouldn't bears be hibernating at this time of the year? And why would a three year old human recognize an animal was a bear? They don't actually look much like any of the cartoon or teddy bears.

Wait. I am not surprised about the GoFundMe. This is a feel-good story about a baby surviving alone in the woods. That touches many heartstrings. I know it did mine. I'm glad it ended well. If this all turned out to be a hoax, it will be sad news. But if people are caught up in the positive vibes and want to send something to the little kid, so what. I'm sure more of the story will come out.

This is reality

[quote]Animals seem to sense a defenseless baby or child... and maybe their protection instinct kicks in. If you have a pet, like a dog or cat, you notice how they are more tolerant with children, when they pull their tail, or provoke them.

R20 has never spent time around cats and children.

OMG you could have warned us.

R39... Just like the heart warming feeling many people got with the couple from New Jersey, helping out the homeless man. All three are grifters..tugging at peoples' heart strings. It's easy to get caught up, then the funds are set up, beware!

Holy shit R40!

Yes r42, because only Care Bears live in the forest. Reality should have been your first clue.

The search teams said the weather was so bad the first evening they had to call off the search as soon as it got dark. That's how bad the weather was. And they were properly dressed for that weather with heavy coats, boots, etc. The search crews said it was raining and windy and freezing cold too. They said some areas were flooded, not severely but still flooded. The little boy was only dressed to be playing outdoors temporarily, in the backyard, like maybe for an hour.

All combined, something had to have protected him and kept him warm or there is no way he would have survived. His feet and hands would have froze and he would have been found in very poor condition, if alive. The temperature was freezing and he was wet from the rain when he was found so his gloves and shoes weren't offering much protection. No way, something had to have kept him alive. An adult would have barely made it under these conditions, let alone a toddler.

Yeah r45, he wasn't out there.

Sorry, meant r46

[quote] Wouldn't he have gotten pneumonia

You can't get pneumonia from being cold. Pneumonia is the result of a virus or bacteria in the lungs. Not from cold or wetness.

Bears are hibernating. They can't survive winter without hibernating - they would starve to death. If there is a bear out there, it is starving and would have eaten the kid.

Coyotes are pack animals and probably pretty hungry in winter and would have tried to eat the kid.

The kid managed to survive, but not due to being cuddled by a bear or a coyote. Maybe aliens - far more likely than starving carnivores.

This is Craven County, NC, where New Bern is located. New Bern’s mascot is...

R40 That's what I was saying in my R7 reply.

I thought bears are more likely to attack. I am glad that wasn't the case here but as I mentioned, a bear cuddling and protecting a human baby seems unusual. Also, aren't bears in hibernation this time of the year?

Yeah. The GoFundMe stinks. First of all, if they were going to do one, why not set it up to benefit rescuers who were out looking for the kid. Selfish and stupid family.

This hen helped these kittens keep warm. Now they all have GoFundMe pages because they want cars and diamonds.

At least the boys personal hygiene wasn't at risk.

Anything is possible, even a bear taking care of the tot in the woods. There have been many verified reports of wild animals taking care of the young of other animals they've just killed. There was recently the report of the lion that killed some type of deer like animal that had a fawn. After the lion killed the mother it then lovingly took care of the fawn until a group of people forced it to run away so they could get the fawn.

GoFundMe is a bane to society..

Bears raise their own cubs without mauling them. And they coexist with other animals in their environments just fine. Most often, they run away from people; they tend to attack primarily when they feel threatened. Why are people here talking as if they are fire-breathing dragons? Animals tend to live at peace with one another except when they need to eat or feel encroached upon. It is within the realm of possibility that a bear could have cuddled up with him for a time, possibly to comfort him, possibly even just because the kid was something warm to huddle against.

Maybe the bear was a female that had recently lost her cub and still had all the motherly instincts and saw this child as a replacement. Don't laugh. Much stranger things have been proven true in the animal kingdom.

Pitbulls and babies. Hopefully no GoFundMe pages later...

You sure it wasn't this type of bear?

[quote]R24 In any case, that child definitely had a guardian angel in some way, or form.

Well, he sure as hell NEEDS one, what with parents that let him wander off for days at a time.

Like someone upthread said they should have examined the boys outer clothing for bear fur or DNA or some signs of a bear. Unless it was washed off by the rain and puddles he had stepped in, in which case they might not have found anything. But the authorities should have done something, like examine his coat/outer clothing to verify the bear story. I'm just relieved he was found safe.

R56 & R58 - I agree. And there are many videos of a very young child falling into a gorilla enclosure or other animal cage at the zoo and the child was carefully picked up, protected, and returned to the waiting zookeeper or attendant standing nearby.

Kids have imaginary playmates all the time. He probably imagined a friendly bear to make it less terrifying to be lost.

As for how he survived - well, first thought is that kids' metabolisms are often sturdier than you'd realize. He maybe could've acclimated enough to the cold to (bearly) survive. Second thought is that he wasn't actually outside as long as claimed. Maybe his folks came up with this idea as a fundraiser. Hid him, claimed he was lost, turned him loose for a few hours instead of a few days.

WHET Balloon Boy?

I believe it was Bear Force One who saved him. Not only that they taught him how to be casually stylish and how to dance!

that's no bear. that's chrissy metz!

[quote]R46 All combined, something had to have protected him and kept him warm or there is no way he would have survived. His feet and hands would have froze

Unless he was safe and sound in his parents’ basement the whole time ...

R61 that's Chrissy Metz brother Treavor , the one no one talks about

[quote] r54 This hen helped these kittens keep warm. Now they all have GoFundMe pages because they want cars and diamonds

Why shouldn’t hens have cars and diamonds?? They work DAMN HARD!

I am getting balloon boy vibes.

Seems like this story is getting stinkier by the minute.

They get the kid back and all of a sudden the media starts banging on their door. Hmmmm. Must be a way we can benefit from all this "publicity." Yeah, says the smart one, "Let's start a GoFundMe. We'll say it's to help if there are any hospital bills in his future." I hope nobody donates a dime to that family.

The GoFundMe tops off at $1,500 and has collected $524 so far. They should give it to the local rescurers.

Plus, the news story says the disobedient little tyke just needed to be treated for minor scrapes. What MEDICAL EXPENSES are there?? Don’t REWARD the brat with new toys etc., or he’ll just wander off again!

And child protective services needs to ask why a 3-year-old is allowed to play unsupervised on the edge of a forest.

The doctors who examined him said he had minor cuts, scratches and bruises, and a rash as well, all consistent with having been outdoors for a long period of time in that type of an environment. The bruises and scratches, mostly on his hands and knees were on certain parts of his body that were also consistent with having been through the ordeal and trauma that the rescuers said he went through.

The fund money should go to the bear..

Lucky fuck.

I'm with those who think that a particularly maternal and well fed female bear could have been involved. But I want proof. Glad the kid's safe.

Bears aren't really "fluffy." But there have been videos of bears hanging with humans before. Like this one in Virginia.

Gurl, plea

Female bears and cubs are hibernating. Some male bears may be out and about. I call bullshit on the bear.

From what I understand, he was drenched in bear semen. God is great! as his aunt said on Facebook.

.....

sounds like bs.

I have a weird question. When my son was 3 he was only potty trained for a year and still had to be verbally reminded often to 'use the potty' or he'd start to wet himself or worry he would. 2 days? this kid would literally have frozen to death from wet/urine. A 3 year old has no capacity to do tge action/consequences of 'it's freezing, i do not want to pull my pants down, back up or wet myself and freeze to death'. plus a panicking kid isn't going to be physically able to hold his bladder or be successful with pants/gloves put back on.

I of course am super happy for the kid if it's true. I just can't picture it.

He urinated on the bear, and the bear ate him, so they switched kids so they could get a car.

This guy

R86 That was probably what the doctor who examined him was referring to when he said the little boy had a bad rash, among scratches and bruises. I agree, even if he was toilet-trained for as long as a year he still would have wet and pooped his pants at some point. Hence the rash. But he was also wet from the freezing rain and puddles of water. So I don't know how he didn't freeze to death. But he has said that a big friendly bear protected him and kept him warm... so.

R86, boys vary developmentally. It's possible he didn't have a problem with it. Also, he was drinking very little during this time, assuming he was in the woods. That said, you do raise an interesting question. That Guardian article was worthless. And I'm not impressed by the Go Fund Me account either. Because the boy was safe, not a lot of questions were asked. The notion that he may have been kept elsewhere is an interesting one, although children don't typically lie at that age except something really obvious when they know they are in trouble. That doesn't seem to apply here.

If I were a frau I'd copy and paste all of the local's stories of thick fur covered Yettis et al who've helped out those who live in remote areas or on even the edge of the forest not to far from where the boy wandered.

The fucked up thing is, I can think of how the family could pull this off. put an adult in a fuzzy suit with a mask or tuque. little kids are dumb, they wouldn't hesitate to think it's a bear if it were to come out of the woods. take the kid for a few hours, keep him warm with the bear, say he was gone 2 days, rake in the cash.

for those who think a kid would never think a person was a bear, go spend some time with an immature or over tired or over imaginative or robitussin'ed 3 year old.

The bear peed on him, repeatedly. The bear pee kept him warm.

What is at R40’s link? I can’t *bear* to look (lame, I know!).

I once watched one of those nature shows where a leopard killed a pregnant baboon and as it was carrying the corpse, the living baby slipped out. The leopard, which I think was a female, and thus imbued with maternal instincts, put the baby monkey in its mouth (like cats do to their children) and carried him to a tree branch and slept by his side. The little monkey died of cold in the night but the leopard's intentions were good.

I'm leaning on the boy's story being untrue, but I'm not entirely sure because there's some precedence to it.

As already mentioned upthread since the bear was supposedly with the little boy for 2 nights and 2 days keeping him warm they should have checked for any evidence of a bear on his clothing, as bears do shed. To have been that close to a bear and for that duration there should have been some evidence that would corroborate the boys' story.

R94, a Russian oil worker torn to pieces by a bear.

R97: Oh wow, Thanks :-( So glad I didn’t look)

Wouldn't the animal have had to sleep on the kid?

This is bullshit. If the kid was black (and family) nobody would be talking about it.

^ I don't know about that, but there would have had to be some evidence of a bear on his clothing that would support his bear story.

^ Meant for R99

R40, thanks for the graphic pic. Not all of us get our kicks by looking at real gore.

R95, there was a story about a similar case where some big cat held an animal baby close, possibly a fawn, like taking care of it, and at the same time kept licking it tenderly. An expert said there was nothing maternal or sweet about it. Cats have a tendency to play with their food even for hours, especially if they are not hungry. It's just their next snack they keep around until the time comes to end it. And that happened with that cat as well, since after some time it killed the kid and ate it.

Hikers have been attacked by bears too. It is impossible to outrun them and they can climb trees so that escape wouldn't work either. They hate the sound of clanging metal so if you bang real hard on pots and pans or a large piece of metal with a metal object they usually run away --- if the sound is loud enough to make them want to get away from it. I always worry when my nieces and nephew go hiking. There are bears in the woods where they hike. Although they've never seen any, they are there. And they are very territorial creatures.

per google: What about bears in North Carolina? Based on hundreds of radio-collared black bears studied across the state, we know that the vast majority of our bears hibernate. Females typically hibernate longer than males. North Carolina’s bears just do it for shorter time periods than their northern cousins. Bears studied in eastern North Carolina by radio-telemetry entered dens as early as November and as late as January. These same bears exited dens as early as February and as late as April. This results in the possibility of bear sightings and roadkills in all months and the misconception that coastal bears do not hibernate. Only human disturbance interrupts these periods of hibernation in North Carolina’s bears.

Female bears give birth during hibernation and nurse their cubs through a period of helplessness. The female “hibernates” throughout the entire process, and unless disturbed, she will not leave the den until she brings her cubs out of the den in the spring. By that time, the cubs can walk and follow the mother as she feeds.

so, maybe? if her baby bear died?

It was a Disney bear from the Jamboree.

There, ya see? I'm not such a bad guy!

Anything a 3 year old says about a traumatic event is likely to be unreliable and their memories can be very inaccurate.

Ask any cop, lawyer, social worker, or doctor who needs to interview young children in abuse cases.

Of all the bears, black bears are the least aggressive and the most tolerant of humans. Brown bears don't care to be around people and are very aggressive toward other animals. Black bears, would rather run up a tree than argue.

I doubt it, I bet it was a overly hirsute child molester who didn't get around to it yet.

I hope it wasn't this bear.

Soon to be an inspirational true story made into a movie, with speaking tours and youtube channels.

I am glad this boy was found. I think we should respect our fellow animal earth-mates too. 2 days is a long time to be alone. There are other stories similar where children say they were protected and nurtured by animals. This is just one more.

R40, that is awful. The man is dead, and doesn't need anyone gawping at his dismembered corpse.

There are other cases of young kids who wonder off surviving the ordeal for several days.

If I remember from learning this in school, kids under 6 years old actually survive better than older kids in similar situations. Will dig up some links this weekend if this thread is still going.

New Bern is pretty warm compared to the rest of the country so hibernation is not deep or long. But he made it up or dreamed about it to get through the ordeal.

r40 NO WARNING?WTF?

This is only time I'm happy I use a decade old computer. I got enough of the blur to click off.

I cannot believe that people here believe a fucking bear kept the kid warm. Do you believei in angels too? The kid is three. Of course his memory is unreliable.

r118 have you read the homeless and disappearance threads lately?

Christians, and fraus and loons--oh my!

I think R40 got his jollies in shocking/disgusting people on here.

R118, I'm open to all possibilities. Yes he could have fallen asleep and been delirious. He's a lucky kid.

Could the bear have been his teddy bear?

It could also have been a NDE, Near Death Experience, where one comes close to death but has a vivid experience of a savior or miracle.

There was a point in my life when I realized my image of God was of the face of my beautiful soft Teddy Bear, and at that point I was saved from the guilt and shame of typical religions.

^ Interesting theory. I hadn't thought of that. It's very possible especially since a 3 yr old would not recognize it as a NDE. He would believe it actually happened. An older child would know the difference but certainly not a 3 or even 4 year old.

R6. I see it has been many, many, many moons since you were 3 but this is exactly the type of story a three-year-old would make up. I’d bet $1000, that I don’t have, that this kid has Winnie The Pooh dvd’s, toys and books. Regular teddy bears. Paddington and it sequel were really big with small kids the past few years. He will have all or most of this stuff in his home I bet. He’s 3. He doesn’t understand these animals.

I have no idea how he survived this in January. Happened around here two years ago next month and the poor kid lasted a day or two but wasn’t found for almost a week.

Bears are hibernating. Any possibility he found a den and curled up with a sleeping bear.

I have a New Agey friend who has always said that children can see their guardian angels up until the age of 4 and that when we see babies smiling, giggling or toddlers have an imaginary friend it is actually their guardian angel they are seeing and interacting with. I don't know anything about this type of thing but that's what she is always preaching.

She also told me the feather I found in my garage is from my guardian angels trying to get my attention. I told her I'm rarely in my garage and if they want to make sure and get my attention they should leave the feathers in my freezer, right next to the Ben & Jerry's where I'll be sure and see them.