A missing 11-month-old boy was found alive beneath the ground inside a dog crate in South Carolina, bringing an agonizing search to an end and leading to the arrest of his father.
Koah Sharp was discovered crying inside the buried wire crate near Batesburg-Leesville on Tuesday, Lexington County Sheriff Jay Koon said.
“Certainly, God is good. Just a few moments ago, we found little Koah Sharp, 11 months old, buried alive and clinging to life,” Koon said during a news conference.
“He was crying—the most joyful sound you could ever hear from a crying baby.”
About 100 emergency responders took part in the search. Investigators believe the child had been buried for roughly 24 hours before rescuers located him.
Search crews spotted “freshly disturbed” soil and pine straw Tuesday afternoon. As officers began digging, they heard the infant crying beneath the ground.
“As they probed it, laid it out and started digging, you could hear little Koah crying,” Koon said. “So, as you can imagine, the race was on. Everybody was getting down there and trying to get him out.”
Rescuers pulled the boy from a crate covered with a towel. Koon said the covering may have helped create an air pocket that allowed Koah to survive.
Koah Sharp, pictured with his father Michael Comer, was found crying inside a buried wire crate near Batesburg-Leesville on Tuesday, Sheriff Jay Koon said
Roughly 100 emergency responders joined the search for the 11-month-old, who investigators believe spent about 24 hours buried beneath the dirt
Search teams found “freshly disturbed” dirt and pine straw Tuesday afternoon before hearing the infant, pictured with his mother Dezarae Sharp, crying beneath the ground
“By the grace of God, it probably provided enough air for him to survive. Our estimation is that he was under that dirt for about 24 hours, or slightly less,” Koon said.
The boy was found roughly 50 yards from his paternal grandfather’s home. He was last seen at about 11 a.m. Monday.
Koah had been staying with his grandmother, Trish Comer, the mother of his 25-year-old father, Michael Comer. Koon said that arrangement “happens quite often.”
When Trish left to run an errand, Koah remained with his father while another caregiver was on the way.
“By the time the caregiver got there, Michael was gone, and Koah was gone with him,” Koon said.
The sheriff said police were called around noon Monday and went to the home of Comer’s father, located “up the street.”
Officers found both doors open and baby supplies inside, but there was “no sign of Michael or the baby.”
Comer was not known to have a vehicle, and investigators believed he had been hitchhiking from “place to place.”
Koah had been in the care of his grandmother, Trish Comer, the mother of his 25-year-old father, Michael Comer. Sheriff Koon said the arrangement “happens quite often”
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When Trish left to run an errand, Koah was left with his father while another caregiver was expected to arrive. “By the time the caregiver got there, Michael was gone, and Koah was gone with him,” Koon said
Comer was not known to have a car, and investigators believed he had been hitchhiking from “place to place”
Investigators later obtained video showing Comer in the Batesburg-Leesville area without the baby.
Koon said authorities had been “hoping and praying” that Comer had left Koah with another caregiver. But “as the day went on and nobody came forward, it was certainly more and more concerning.”
Comer was found late Monday evening in an outbuilding at a Batesburg home. He was arrested on charges of burglary and resisting arrest.
“He didn’t have much to say about the whereabouts of the baby at that time,” Koon said.
Koah’s mother, Dezarae Sharp, said Comer had been permitted to visit his son on weekends because he had “been going to therapy and stopped drinking.”
“His dad decided, though, that it was time to get jealous over other guys, so he pulled this on this weekend’s trip,” she said. She added that Comer “is a harm to himself, as far as I’ve heard, so possibly to others.”
Trish wrote on Facebook that she left work early after feeling that something was wrong. She said she contacted police after realizing her son had taken Koah.
“I called [the police] as soon as I realized he took the baby,” she wrote. “He had his dad pick him up, and then he took off on foot with Koah from his dad’s house.”
Comer was found Monday evening in an outbuilding in Batesburg and arrested on burglary and resisting-arrest charges. Koon said he had “not much to say about the whereabouts of the baby”
Koah’s mother, Dezarae Sharp, said Comer had been allowed to visit their son on weekends because he had “been going to therapy and stopped drinking”
Trish Comer said she knew her “son’s a problem,” but “did not know that he was this bad.” She said, “He loved that baby; he’d do anything for that baby”
Trish made several desperate posts seeking help to locate Koah, describing the situation as “such a horrific time.”
“I love that grandbaby with all my heart… I have not slept in over 24 hours,” she wrote. “You don’t know what it’s like to lose a grandchild like that and have your son do something like this. I’m not trying to play the woe-is-me card, but this whole situation has been heartbreaking.”
She said she knew her “son’s a problem,” but never realized “that he was this bad.”
“He loved that baby; he’d do anything for that baby. He took good care of that baby. If you could see him with that baby, he was wonderful,” she wrote.
“I did not know that he would do something like this, and I’m sorry that I did not see this beforehand.”
The Daily Mail contacted the Lexington County Sheriff’s Office for comment.
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