Insets, from left: Michael Comer and Koah Sharpe (Lexington County Sheriff’s Office). Background: South Carolina authorities investigate after Comer allegedly buried baby Koah alive in a dog crate (WWL).
A South Carolina man is accused of burying his 11-month-old son inside a dog crate, where rescuers found the baby alive roughly 24 hours later—crying loudly and reportedly “clinging to life.”
Michael Alexander Comer, 25, faces charges of burglary and resisting arrest. Lexington County Sheriff Jay Koon said during a press conference that additional charges are expected.
The search for baby Koah Sharpe began Monday afternoon after Comer allegedly took the child from his mother’s home. Koah’s mother, who normally cared for him, had briefly left the baby with Comer while she ran an errand and waited for a babysitter to arrive.
According to investigators, Comer left with the child before the babysitter reached the house.
Deputies began searching for both Comer and Koah. Investigators learned that Comer’s father lived nearby and checked the residence, finding both doors open and toys scattered inside—but no sign of either the father or child.
Because Comer did not own a vehicle, authorities could not rely on license-plate reader data, Koon said. Investigators later learned that Comer had been “bumming rides” and moving from one location to another. Surveillance footage showed him walking in the Batesburg-Leesville area, but Koah was not visible.
On Monday night, officers located Comer hiding in an outhouse on property near Columbia Avenue in Batesburg. That encounter resulted in the burglary and resisting arrest charges. However, Koon said Comer still refused to reveal where the baby was.
Nearly 100 deputies and other emergency responders joined the search Tuesday, focusing on wooded areas surrounding Comer’s father’s home. During the operation, investigators noticed a patch of ground approximately 50 feet from the residence that appeared to have been recently disturbed.
“As they probed it and started digging, you could hear little Koah crying,” Koon said. “So, as you can imagine, the race was on. Everybody was trying to get him out.”
Rescuers found the infant wrapped in a towel and enclosed in a dog crate measuring about 2 feet by 2 feet. Koah was crying and in critical condition.
“The most joyful sound you ever heard—a crying baby, much like when your children were born,” the sheriff said.
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Koon said the crate may have allowed enough air inside for Koah to survive for nearly a day. Cooler temperatures in the area also appeared to have helped keep the baby alive.
“A lot of things were going in Koah’s favor, and the good Lord looked down on him,” Koon said. “Hopefully, at 11 months old, he won’t remember much of this as he gets older. He’ll just have a great, inspiring story to tell.”
Koah was transported to a hospital for treatment and is expected to survive.
“He was screaming at the top of his lungs, which is a good thing in the baby world, I would guess,” Koon said.
Comer’s mother, Patricia Comer, told NBC News that Koah’s mother had full custody and that she regularly cared for her grandson on weekends. Patricia said Michael had previously watched the baby without any problems.
She said the babysitter called after arriving at the home and receiving no response when she knocked on the door.
“Something just did not feel right. I told my boss, ‘I need to leave work,’” Patricia Comer said. “Call it a mother’s instinct. I don’t know what it was.”
After arriving at the residence and finding neither her son nor grandson, Patricia contacted police.
Comer has been arrested three times this year on allegations involving domestic violence and assault, and he is currently on probation. He remains held without bond at the Lexington County Jail while authorities consider additional charges.
Patricia Comer said she “never expected” her son to be accused of such actions, but added that he is now “where he needs to be”—in police custody.
The post Baby found alive after allegedly being buried in a 24-inch dog crate for 24 hours, “clinging to life” and “screaming at the top of his lungs”: Police first appeared on Law & Crime.