There are absolutely bears around there. We live in Floyd County, and we saw a bear behind the home of our neighbor. We have also seen wolves, fox, and even a baby bobcat (it's mother had to be around somewhere).
Bears will come near a home when they are hungry. The bear we saw behind our neighbors house was a small bear looking for food. We got pictures. There are hills all around us as well. Turkeys, deer, possum and once in a while a wild dog "pack" has been spotted.
KH may not have been able to go very far, but animals can see and might attack a little one. Our neighbor tried to keep chickens. He built a nice pen and covered it to keep the eagles away from them. They hover and watch the chickens and will scoop down and get them (or any small animal). I don't know if anything like that might have happened to little KH. But, he's somewhere. Praying today is the day.