Wild coyote invades South Carolina airport

A coyote ran inside a South Carolina airport baggage claim area on Tuesday but was caught at a security checkpoint before it could get into the terminals, officials said.

No one was injured and no flights were delayed, said Kirk Lovell, assistant director of airports at the Myrtle Beach facility, where the coyote was first spotted around 10 a.m. local time.

The coyote was removed from the Myrtle Beach International Airport by Horry County animal control, Lovell said.

The coyote was first seen by airport personnel, who chased it unsuccessfully before the animal control officers were called, he said.

The animal ended up cornered next to a Transportation Safety Administration checkpoint, Lovell said.

"It did not get through the security checkpoint, so the TSA is doing a fantastic job of stopping anybody without ID or boarding passes," he said.

The checkpoint was briefly closed but no passengers missed their flights.

The coyote was euthanized, as the animal is considered a nuisance in Horry County and policy dictates that any captured be killed, according to The Sun newspaper in Myrtle Beach.