Three-year-old boy missing in woods for two days says friendly bear kept him safe

Three-year-old boy missing in woods for two days says friendly bear(be(ə)r) kept(kept) him safe

Casey(kāsē) Hathaway from North Carolina(ˌkarəˈlīnə) hailed(hāl) ‘a survivor(sərˈvīvər)’ by police(pəˈlēs) after becoming lost in sub-zero temperatures(-ˌCHo͝or,ˈtemp(ə)rəCHər)

A three-year-old boy who survived(sərˈvīv) two nights alone in the woods in freezing conditions(kənˈdiSHən) has told police and family he was helped out by a friendly bear that was with him the whole time.

Rescuers(ˈreskyo͞oər) responding to reports of a baby crying found Casey Hathaway tangled(ˈtaNGgəld) up in thorny(ˈTHôrnē) bushes, cold and soaked(sōkt) but safe on Thursday night. He had gone missing on Tuesday in conditions so bad the subsequent(ˈsəbsəkwənt) search had to be called off.

As it turned out, help – perhaps real, perhaps imaginary(iˈmajəˌnerē) but certainly useful – was at hand in those woods in North Carolina, a state(stāt) that is home to plenty(ˈplen(t)ē) of black bears. Craven(ˈkrāvən) county(ˈkoun(t)ē) sheriff(ˈSHerif) Chip Hughes(hils) said Casey “did say that he had a friend in the woods that was a bear that was with him”.

The claim(klām) was reportedly(rəˈpôrdədlē) repeated(rəˈpēdəd) by the boy’s aunt(ant,änt) Breanna(briannə) Hathaway. “He said he hung(həNG) out with a bear for two days,” Hathaway wrote in a Facebook post. “God sent him a friend to keep him safe. God is a good God. Miracles(ˈmirək(ə)l) do happen.”

Hughes(hyo͞oz) said the boy had been playing with two other children in his grandmother’s backyard in Ernul on Tuesday, but did not come inside with them.

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https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/jan/28/three-year-old-boy-missing-in-woods-for-two-days-says-friendly-bear-kept-him-safe