© 2026 ABC News

The little boy was rushed to the hospital.

\"Just the look on his face when his little sister came in the room, it was tear-jerking,\" Hughes said.

\"PHOTO:
Gray Whitley/Sun Journal via AP
PHOTO: Search teams look for missing 3-year-old Casey Lynn Hathaway in thickets and wooded areas off of Toler Road and Aurora Road near Cayton, N.C., Jan. 23, 2019.
>

\"By his condition it was pretty obvious that he had been out there for the time,\" the sheriff told ABC News Friday.

Hughes called this one of his most emotional and rewarding cases.

\"His family is so happy to have him back safe,\" Check added Friday.

We did our live shots all week at this church bc it was the closest to the scene where we could get signal. It warms my heart to see the message on this sign after we spent nearly three days at this location not knowing what the outcome of this story would be. #CaseyHathaway pic.twitter.com/O1dZAkteP3

— Merrilee Moore (@mmooreofficial) January 25, 2019

Casey was playing outside Tuesday when he disappeared and a relative reported him missing, the FBI said.

Hundreds of professional searchers and volunteers spent Wednesday pushing through the cold, heavy rain, whipping winds and rugged terrain as they looked for the little boy.

Thursday morning, \"only professional searchers are being used because of serious safety concerns with the weather,\" the FBI in Charlotte said.

By Thursday night, Casey was \"good, he's up and talking, he's already asking to watch Netflix,\" Casey's mother, Brittany Hathaway, told reporters.

ABC News' Brandon Baur contributed to this report.

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