Missing 11-month-old boy taken by father rescued after being buried alive: Sheriff

An 11-month-old boy who had been taken by his father was rescued after being buried alive in a dog crate following an urgent search, authorities in South Carolina said.

The baby, Koah Sharpe, was found Tuesday afternoon "clinging to life," after spending what is believed to have been 24 hours buried, according to Lexington County Sheriff Jay Koon.

The boy was found wrapped in a towel in the crate, shallowly buried under dirt in the woods, "crying the most joyful sound you ever heard of a crying baby," the sheriff said during a press briefing Tuesday.

"Certainly, God is good," Koon said.

Authorities began searching Monday afternoon for Koah and his father, 25-year-old Michael Comer, according to the Lexington County Sheriff's Department.

Koah had been left in his father's care at the child's mother's home while she ran an errand, according to Koon. Another caregiver was coming to the house, but by the time that person arrived, the father and son were gone, the sheriff said.

Lexington County deputies located Comer late Monday night in the area of Batesburg-Leesville, but Koah was nowhere to be found, authorities said.

A search party of nearly 100 first responders began looking for the baby, according to Koon. While searching near Comer's father's house Tuesday afternoon, they found "freshly disturbed" dirt about 50 yards into the woods, he said.
"As they probed it and laid it out and started digging, you could hear little Koah crying," the sheriff said. "As you imagine, the race was on, everybody's getting down there trying to get him out."

The baby is currently receiving care at a hospital and "hopefully will make a full recovery," the sheriff said.

Based on what investigators learned of the father's whereabouts, it is believed the baby had been buried for 24 hours, Koon said. The sheriff says he believes the towel helped create an "air pocket."

"Hopefully at 11 months old, he will not remember much of this as he grows older, just to have a great inspiring story to tell," Koon said.

Comer was located in an outbuilding at a house in Batesburg on Monday night, according to Koon, who said, "Of course, he didn't have much to say about the whereabouts of the baby at that time."

Comer was initially arrested on burglary and resisting arrest charges, and authorities are working with the local solicitor's office to determine additional charges, Koon said.

"We want to thank everybody and just celebrate the fact today that an 11-month-old baby is alive," Koon said.