The 3-year-old North Carolina boy who was found safe after spending two days lost in the woods told his family that he “hung out with a bear” during the ordeal.

Casey Hathaway’s aunt said her toddler nephew was “healthy, smiling and talking” after being found tangled in a briar patch in Ernul, NC, on Thursday, about a half-mile from where he went missing, the Charlotte Observer reported.

“He said he hung out with a bear for two days,” Breanna Hathaway wrote in a since-deleted Facebook post. “God sent him a friend to keep him safe. God is good God. Miracles do happen.”

The little boy had wandered away from his grandmother’s yard Tuesday while playing with two other children.

Hundreds of people from the community spent two days searching for the boy. Then on Thursday, a woman walking her dogs heard him “crying out.”

Doctors at CarolinaEast Medical Center said Casey was in good condition and he was sent home over the weekend, WBTW reported.