An 11-month-old baby survived an entire day below dirt, inside of a dog crate, after authorities said he was taken by his father in South Carolina and buried alive.
The missing baby, Koah Sharpe, was discovered the afternoon of Tuesday, November 10, “clinging to life, crying,” Lexington County Sheriff Jay Koon said during a news conference, describing the cries signaling he was alive as “the most joyful sound.”
Koah was found in the woods “buried in what I would call a dog crate wrapped in a towel that by the grace of God probably provided enough air for him to survive,” Koon said.
Investigators estimate the child spent 24 hours in the dirt after he was allegedly taken by his father, Michael Comer, on Monday November 9, when Comer’s mother had initially been caring for Koah at her home.
After Comer went to his mother’s home that morning, she left ahead of the arrival of another caregiver who was going to watch Koah, according to Koon.
“By the time the caregiver got there, Michael was gone and Koah was gone with him,” Koon said.
A desperate search for Koah ensued near Batesburg-Leesville, according to the Lexington County Sheriff’s Office, which described Koah in a Tuesday Facebook post as a blue-eyed, “bright boy” with reddish blond hair who regularly has a pacifier.
Comer was found without Koah on Monday evening at an outbuilding in Batesburg and taken into custody on a burglary charge, according to authorities.
Then on Tuesday, a search party spotted a patch of “freshly disturbed” dirt near Comer’s father’s home, ultimately leading investigators to Koah, Koon said.
After investigators started digging, the sheriff said “you could hear little Koah crying.”
“So as you imagine, the race was on. Everybody’s getting down there trying to get him out,” Koon added.
Koah, who the sheriff said was “screaming at the top of his lungs,” was taken to a hospital for treatment.
He “hopefully will make a full recovery,” Koon said.
Investigators believe the towel around the crate containing Koah likely created an air pocket while he was buried.
With Comer in custody, his mother, Patricia Comer, told NBC News that he is “where he needs to be.”
“Honestly, I’m his mother, and I never expected this from him,” she told the outlet.
Information on Comer’s legal representation wasn’t immediately available.
