Open Question: What animal could have been making a noise like a crying child at night when I was camping?

I was camping over the weekend at the NY/MA border and last night, I heard this noise in the night that sounded like a child wailing and crying out, but when I listened closely, I couldn't make out any words. It got further away and then it sounded like it was very close by. It went on for quite some time, then it started again maybe an hour or two later.

Because of the time in between, I became convinced that this was an animal, not a human. It was such a creepy sound.

Some of my coworkers told me that it sounded like I had heard a bobcat, that this is how they trap their prey. Does anyone know what kind of animal I may have been hearing? And would it have posed any danger to people inside a tent?
Thank you for the video Chris! The sound I heard was much different than this. It was not high pitched, piercing or fast at all. The best way I can describe it is that it sounded like a 5 or 6 year old male child wailing and calling out as he wandered lost in the woods, because whatever was making the noise was moving slowly, but covering quite a distance. It started out far away, then sounded quite close to the tent, then moved away again, etc. I was actually listening hard to see if I could make out words to be sure it wasn't a child because it really sounded like words being called over a distance out by someone who needed help.

Source:
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20110814203648AAWiOQo

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