An 11-month-old boy who had been missing for more than a day was found alive Tuesday afternoon in South Carolina, buried in a dog crate in the woods near his grandfather’s home, authorities said.
“God is good. Just a few moments ago, we found little Koah Sharpe, 11 months old, buried alive, clinging to life,” Lexington County Sheriff Jay Koon told reporters. “Crying, the most joyful sound you ever heard of a crying baby.”
Deputies found Koah between about 1:30 and 2:30 p.m. Tuesday after hearing him crying. He was inside a dog crate about two feet by two feet, wrapped in a towel and buried in shallow ground roughly 50 yards into the woods off Parthenon Road. Searchers had spotted pine straw and freshly disturbed earth. The sheriff said the towel may have created an air pocket that helped the baby survive. Investigators believe he had been buried for about 24 hours.
Koah was taken to a hospital. The sheriff said he “hopefully will make a full recovery,” adding: “Hopefully, at 11 months old, he will not remember much of this.”
The baby disappeared Monday. According to the sheriff, Koah had been left in the care of his father, 25-year-old Michael Comer, while his mother ran an errand. WACH reported that it was Comer’s mother, Patricia Comer, who left the baby with him. Another caregiver was expected to arrive, but by the time that person got there, Comer and Koah were gone. Father and son were last seen together around 11 a.m. on Parthenon Road, and the baby was reported missing around 3 p.m.
Deputies went to the nearby home of Comer’s father and found both doors open and the baby’s belongings inside, but no sign of either of them. Comer does not have a car. Investigators believe he got rides from place to place, and video footage placed him in the Batesburg-Leesville area without the baby.
Deputies found Comer late Monday night in a shed on Columbia Avenue in Batesburg and arrested him on burglary and resisting arrest charges. Koah was not with him, and officials said Comer “didn’t have much to say” about where the baby was.
The search continued through the night and into Tuesday, involving more than 100 personnel from the sheriff’s department, the county fire service, the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, the FBI and the ATF.
Investigators have not given a motive. They said they were aware of problems between Comer and the baby’s mother, who are no longer in a relationship. Patricia Comer told WACH that her son had been diagnosed with schizophrenia and manic depression. She described him as a loving father and said he had never before endangered the baby.
Comer remains in custody at the Lexington County Detention Center. Authorities said additional charges are expected, and a bond hearing will be scheduled. According to court records cited by WIS, Comer was placed on probation just over a month ago after pleading guilty to aggravated breach of peace, and he was arrested earlier this year on domestic violence and weapons-related charges.
