Missing Boy, Who Got Lost in N.C. Woods While Skipping School to Play Xbox, Slept in RV and Befriended a Cat

Wake County Sheriff's Office/Twitter

A young boy was found after he got lost in the woods when he tried to skip school earlier this week to play video games.

According to NBC affiliate WRAL, 9-year-old Bentley Stancil was seen running into the woods near his home in Wendell, North Carolina, on Tuesday morning instead of boarding his bus to school.

FOX affiliate WGHP reported that an AMBER Alert was issued in the state in the hours after Bentley's disappearance.

Bentley was eventually found on Wednesday morning after an extensive search that involved teams from the FBI, local police and other volunteers.

But the boy's family was surprised to learn why he decided to ditch school, which led to him running into the woods to hide from neighbors.

"No one expected Xbox to be the reason he tried to skip out on school and not come home," Bentley's aunt and legal guardian, April Poage, told WRAL.

She continued: "I couldn't believe it really was the Xbox because my mind was going a million places – like is there something at school? Maybe somebody is bullying him and he just hadn't told us about it?"

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XBox

Per NBC affiliate WITN, Bentley was found hiding in a camper in an area that had already been searched.

"I'm just thankful for everybody involved who helped out," said Kayla Stancil, Bentley's mother, according to ABC affiliate WTVD. "Because this could have turned out very bad. And it didn't. And he's OK. He's resourceful, and he found an RV to stay in for shelter. And it had power."

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"He stayed warm all night," she added. "He didn't get wet. And he found a cat that he fell in love with that we might be taking home."

The family told the station that Bentley made it through the night after he found "something to eat and a microwave" while inside the RV.

Brandon Stancil, Bentley's father, said his son was relieved when he was finally found after getting lost.

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"He looked at me and smiled, and said I knew you was gonna find me," he said, per WTVD. "I was like son, I ain't been to sleep, I ain't been home, I ain't been to work. I couldn't just go nowhere and sit around with my son out there."

"He jumped about 10 feet in my arms," Brandon recalled. "And that's the best feeling to where I could feel, I found my son and he's all right."