I was just going to post this is a textbook example of David Paulides Missing 411 cases.
Small child.
Found where people have searched and searched.
And if the child is found alive, they tell of a “bear” or something caring for them.
Paulides tell ghost stories based on tragedies. He has found a way to monetize the current American mysticism and paranormal crazy.
He could have played it straight and done a real service to the outdoor community. Instead, he turns it into a magic show. More money in mysticism.
Also, a bear cub crying sounds astonishingly like a human child crying. I had that experience once near a place where one was in captivity at a facility that had college mascots. They had a new one and were teaching it to be able to sleep alone for god knows what reason.
From where I was, 2 blocks away, late one night I “heard” a baby screaming outside. It was enough to get me out of the house and go follow the sound. I was astonished when it lead to the bear enclosure. There that little cub was climbed halfway up the fence, wanting attention.
Animals are weird. It might be very possible that a bear heard the kid, thought it sounded like a cub, sniffed him and left. They someones kill you and other times just get curious. Sometimes they kill cubs even, so who knows?
But a point of order, do bears in that part of the country hibernate? It is January after all?
In that book, I don’t recall reading about any that came back alive.