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The young boy's family said he appeared in good spirits and was already asking to watch television.

\"We're very thankful that you took the time out to come search for Casey and prayed for him,\" his mother, Brittany Hathaway, said at the press conference. \"He's good! He is good. He's up and talking, he's already asked to watch Netflix.\"

The boy was found in a wooded location provided in a tip from a citizen as the search widened in area, authorities said.

\"As soon as the deputy stepped out, he heard Casey asking for his mother,\" Hughes said.

Nearly 600 volunteers had participated in a search for Casey earlier this week, mulling through wooded areas in brutally cold temperatures for signs of the young boy.

\"The terrain was woods. It was thick in places,\" volunteer searcher Max Dudley told ABC affiliate WTVD. \"Some places it wasn't that thick, but we took our time and you see the next person, and you look and you look and you look.\"

Those factors, coupled with the potential for dangerous weather, caused officials to only allow professionals to search on Thursday, according to WTVD.

The Craven County Sheriff's Office had urged residents to check their property, cars and storage sheds for Casey in case he had wandered away.

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