When an 11-month-old infant was reported missing in South Carolina, dozens of first responders combed the countryside for the "bright boy with reddish blond hair" that the sheriff's office said had disappeared while his grandmother ran errands.

After a full day of searching, authorities found freshly disturbed soil in the woods not far from the home of the boy's grandfather.

They began digging and soon unearthed little Koah Sharp, who was "clinging to life" after being buried alive in a dog crate wrapped in a towel, the sheriff said.