Missing 3-Year-Old Casey Hathaway Found Alive in North Carolina

ERNUL, N.C. – A toddler who disappeared in North Carolina on Tuesday was recovered alive Thursday night by a search-and-rescue team. The boy has been reunited with family members and is reportedly in good condition.

This past Tuesday afternoon, three-year-old Casey Hathaway was playing with two other children in the backyard of his grandmother’s home in Craven County. At around 1:40 p.m., the grandmother called the kids into the house, and two of them responded—but Casey was nowhere to be found. The grandmother and another relative frantically tried to locate Casey for the next 45 minutes, and then called the police to report him missing. A massive search effort immediately kicked off, with the FBI joining local authorities, professional rescuers, and other community members in looking for the missing boy.

Finally, on Thursday night, a tip about a crying child led searchers to a heavily wooded area where they saw Casey, entangled in a patch of briers, yelling for his mother. Rescuers freed the boy and rushed him to safety. Several hours later, Chocowinity EMS Captain Shane Grier announced the good news at a press conference, saying: “It's a great evening, folks. We brought Casey to his family, just like we said we were going to do. We did not give up. We were very persistent. Little fella is happy. His parents are happy as well. When he saw his little sister, had a big smile on his face. I'll tell you it's just very, very touching.”

Casey was taken to Carolina East Medical Center in New Bern to be evaluated. No evidence has been found at present to suggest he was abducted, but police will continue to investigate the circumstances. By all accounts so far, Casey suffered no physical harm and his spirit is upbeat. Addressing the press conference, Casey’s mother Brittany Hathaway expressed profound gratitude to everyone who aided in her son’s recovery and added: "He's good, he's good, he's up and talking, he's already asking to watch Netflix.”

Read more: ABC News, USA Today, People, WCTI