Hi everyone. I'm Josh, and this is The Emerald,

currents and trends through a mythic lens.

The podcast where we explore an ever-changing world and our lives in it

through the lens of myth, story, and imagination.

The Emerald.

All that's happening on this green jewel in space. In January 2018, a three-year-old boy named Casey Hathaway went missing in the woods outside of Aeronel, North Carolina. His parents looked everywhere and couldn't find him. The January temperatures in the woods and

mountains surrounding Arnal were dropping into the 20s, and there was grave concern for his safety.

Authorities were alerted. Police searches were conducted, but they couldn't find Little Casey.

Nearly three days later, Casey appeared, 50 yards from where he had been lost. He was soaking wet,

cold, and tangled in thorns,

but he was alive. This in itself seemed something of a miracle. Lost toddlers have a very low survival

rate in the wild in these types of conditions. They don't instinctively seek shelter. They don't know

about which leaves make good insulators. They don't know how you can stuff your clothes with grasses to make an instant down jacket.

In this day and age, most adults probably don't know that either.

So anyway, the adults were shocked to see him unharmed and naturally wanted to know how he survived.

And Casey told them that he hadn't been alone out there.

He said he had help.

He said that a bear had kept him safe.

A bear. Out there in the North Carolina Wilds.

Whether it was a flesh and blood bear or a bear of Casey imagining, was never proven, but his family believed him.

The story gained local popularity. A couple of weeks after Casey's short disappearance, the Craven

County Sheriff's Office posted a social media update confirming that there was no evidence of any

...