Baby found alive after about 24 hours buried in a dog crate in South Carolina

An 11-month-old boy who went missing in Lexington County, South Carolina, on Monday was found alive on Tuesday afternoon inside a dog crate buried in woods, the county sheriff's department said. Sheriff Jay Koon told a news conference the baby was "clinging to life" when officers dug him out, according to CBS News and CNN.

What authorities say happened

The sheriff's department says the boy was taken on Monday morning by his father, a 25-year-old man. Per NBC News, the baby had been with his paternal grandmother, who left to run an errand while the father stayed with the child. A caregiver who arrived shortly afterward found both gone.

Investigators say surveillance video that afternoon showed the father at several businesses without the baby. Deputies found him Monday night in an outbuilding in Batesburg-Leesville and arrested him. CBS reports a burglary charge; CNN reports burglary and resisting arrest. The child was not with him.

The search and the rescue

CNN and CBS report that close to 100 law enforcement and public safety personnel searched the area. On Tuesday, searchers near the home of the father's father noticed freshly disturbed dirt in pine straw roughly 50 yards into the woods. As they started digging, they heard a baby crying. NBC reports the crate was found around 1:30 p.m.

The crate measured about 2 feet by 2 feet and was wrapped in a towel, which the sheriff said "probably created an air pocket." CNN reports it was under about a foot of dirt. The boy was taken to a hospital. As of Wednesday, the sheriff's department had not confirmed his condition and told CNN more information would come later in the day.

Charges and what is still unknown

The sheriff said he does not know why the child was buried. Investigators are working with the solicitor's office on what additional charges the father could face. CNN reports he remains in custody, with a bond hearing scheduled for Thursday, and that it was not clear whether he has a lawyer. An arrest is not a conviction, and no additional charges had been announced as of this report.

CBS, citing the Associated Press and court records, reports the father was sentenced to probation in October after pleading guilty to domestic violence and aggravated breach-of-peace charges tied to a July arrest. NBC quotes the grandmother as saying the child's mother has full custody and that no custody order barred the father from watching the boy unsupervised.

Source differences

Outlets have spelled the child's surname differently, and NBC names the sheriff as Bryan Koon while CBS and CNN say Jay Koon. We are using the name given by two of the three outlets and are not naming the child or the family while the case is open. We will update this story when the sheriff's department releases the boy's condition and the formal charges.

Sources: CBS News, NBC News, CNN, all citing the Lexington County Sheriff's Department. Details may change as the investigation develops.