Toddler found unresponsive in home filled with dead animals
GRAY COURT, S.C. (AP) — A 2-year-old boy remained in the hospital in critical condition Wednesday after he was found unconscious and bruised in a Gray Court home filled with dozens of dead and dying animals.
Multiple media outlets report that Laurens County deputies were called to the home Tuesday evening after the boy's mother, Savannah V. Morgan, said the boy had choked. She later said she dropped the child.
Authorities say the 25-year-old Morgan physically abused the boy, causing him to suffer bleeding in the brain.
Lt. Scott Franklin says Animal Control officers seized dozens of dead animals, including 48 rats and 10 python snakes.
Morgan has since been charged with three counts of child neglect and one count of child abuse and cruelty to animals. It was not clear if she has an attorney.
2nd annual sweetgrass harvest on Corps of Engineers tract
ST. STEPHEN, S.C. (AP) — It's the second year sweetgrass is being harvested on a tract owned by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in the South Carolina Lowcountry.
More than 50 people are expected to be out Thursday near St. Stephen pulling the soft grass woven into baskets by slaves and their descendants for centuries along Southeast coast.
The grass has been harder to find in recent years because of coastal development. The Corps' Charleston District has planted more than sweetgrass 13,000 plants in tracts from the North Carolina line to Daufuskie Island.
The pulling of the grass is dedicated to the victims of last month's Emanuel AME Church shooting in Charleston. A cross woven of grass from the tract will be presented later to the church.
Hope for miracle dims but search goes on for missing boys
TEQUESTA, Fla. (AP) — Families hoped for a miracle even as science nagged that one was improbable and rescue crews went into a seventh day of searches Thursday for two teens missing at sea.
Though it seemed unlikely a medley of agencies would continue their hunts much longer, the Coast Guard, which is leading the effort, insisted it remained an "active and open" case now focused off the South Carolina coastline.
"We're still searching," Chief Petty Officer Ryan Doss said Wednesday evening, with no immediate end in sight.
Doss called the decision on how long to continue looking for the 14-year-old fishermen, Perry Cohen and Austin Stephanos, a mix of "art and science," that juggles knowledge of how long people can survive adrift with unknowns on whether the boys had flotation devices and drinking water — and even the extent of their physical stamina.
"Not knowing really adds an element of challenge to everything," he said.
Those following the story around the world lit up Twitter and Facebook with thousands of messages of support, including "Never give up," ''Can't stop thinking about them," and "Keep the faith and prayers going and hope!" People turned out at local vigils and more than $185,000 was raised online to fund a private search. Residents turned up as dusk fell on beaches and lit candles.
The saga of the two boys from Tequesta, Florida, began Friday. Their parents believed their fishing outing would take them to a local river and waterway, as was the rule in previous solo trips, not to deep Atlantic waters. Summer storms moved through the area that afternoon, and when the teens didn't return on time, the Coast Guard was alerted and began their day-and-night search.
The Coast Guard has covered a mammoth search area of nearly 40,000 square nautical miles, stretching from the waters off South Florida up through South Carolina. It has proven a frustrating ordeal, with no new clues since the teens' capsized boat was located Sunday. Sightings of floating objects occasionally spurred hope before being found irrelevant.