4-month-old boy taken from mom in NC found in SC

By SUSANNE M. SCHAFER
Associated Press Writer

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) – Authorities say a 4-month-old baby taken from his mother in North Carolina was found alert and crying after spending seven hours in South Carolina woods with his alleged abductor. Chesterfield County Sheriff’s Lt. Briana Davis said Jalleel Xamir Howard was found around 2 a.m. Wednesday, about 15 hours after he was snatched from his mother’s car in a Monroe parking lot.

Davis says deputies stopped a car Tuesday evening on state Highway 207 near Pageland, SC, and 41-year-old Lonnie Cecil Buchanan ran into the woods with the baby. Investigators say Buchanan stayed in the woods with the infant during heavy rains, only surrendering seven hours later.

Davis says Buchanan was charged with kidnapping. It wasn’t immediately clear if he had an attorney.

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