Okay a couple is married, and there is no custody granted to either( in other words they haven't gone to a lawyer)The child lives with the mother...

I do not know the law in SC but in PA if neither parent
has been granted primary legal custody and one is keeping the child fromm the other, if
the police are called, they will say "this is a matter for family court and there is
nothing we can legally do about it, go to court" and even if one parent is in contempt
of a court order, and the police are called the response is " file comtempt with the
court". Police only get involved here if there is evidence that the child has been moved
across state lines. I do not recommend that he just take the child, courts typically see
that as irresponsible and frown upon it. What he can do is get CPS involved and ask that
they grant him temporary custody while they look into the allegations of abuse. What
troubles me here is if he has not seen his child since Feb, why he did not file sooner
if he believes his child is beiong harmed, if the allegations were "founded" or even
"indicated" CPS would have located the childs father immediately. If he can afford to
pay even some money to a lawyer, he could have afforded in FEB to file the petition for 
partial or primary custody of his child. Although many courts feel the best interest of
the child is served by having the mother retain primary custody, a fathers rights to, at
the very least,visitation periods with his child are never denied, unless the father is
deemd unfit or unable. Most of my male friends have 50/50 custody of their children, and
obtained it without a lawyer, a judge would not have told him that he is not entitled to
visitation. But now if he goes in there months later pissing and moaning about how she's
been keeping his child from him, ESPECIALLY knowing where she is, the judge will look
down on that and further if he goes in there claiming that his child is being abused and
living with an unfit parent, as a human being in general, I frown upon him having that
knowledge and doing nothing. He needed to contact a youth advocate, legal aid and CPS,
then his child would not be in this mess. Sounds to me like his support payments aren't
to his liking and now he wants the kid. Just my opinion, I also know quite a few men on
that band wagon.