Casey Hathaway missing: 3-year-old boy disappears from grandma's backyard in North Carolina

ERNUL, North Carolina -- More than 50 volunteers turned out Wednesday morning to help search for a missing 3-year-old boy in North Carolina.

Deputies said Casey Hathaway went missing from his grandmother's home, in Ernul, around 1 p.m. Tuesday.

According to WCTI, he was playing with two children in the backyard before his disappearance.

Officials said the grandmother and others searched for Casey for 45 minutes before calling 911.

He is 2'4", weighs 25 pounds, has strawberry blond hair, and brown eyes.

He was last seen wearing a blue coat and dark-colored pants.

Tuesday afternoon and evening more than 100 volunteers gave their time to get out and look for Casey.

"We are doing everything we can to find this child, utilizing all resources at our disposal and once again, we want these folks in the Cayton Community and Ernul Community to certainly keep an ear out," said Craven County Sheriff Chip Hughes.