Father arrested after baby boy found buried alive in dog crate

An 11-month-old baby boy is “clinging to life” after he was found buried alive in a dog crate in South Carolina, over 24 hours after his father allegedly snatched him away from his caregivers, authorities said.

The baby, Koah Sharpe, was found Tuesday afternoon inside a dog crate that was wrapped in a towel and buried in a shallow hole in the woods after he was last seen with his father, 25-year-old Michael Comer, Lexington County Sheriff Jay Koon said during a press conference Tuesday.

Rescue teams searching for the baby heard “crying, the most joyful sound you ever heard of a crying baby,” Koon said. “By the grace of God, [the crate] probably provided enough air for him to survive our estimation of the last 24 hours under the dirt.”

Comer’s mother had been babysitting Koah when she briefly left the baby in his father’s care to run an errand, and as another caregiver was en route. But when the other caregiver arrived, both Comer and the baby were gone, authorities said.

The little boy’s relatives filed a missing-person report Monday afternoon, but the sheriff said an Amber Alert was never issued because Comer does not have a car.

“To be able to issue an Amber Alert, you have to have a known description of a car and a license plate to put out,” Koon said, noting Comer would bum rides from place to place.

Authorities learned that Comer’s father lived up the street but when they arrived at the home, they found “both doors open, baby belongings in the house, but no sign of Michael or the baby.”

On Tuesday morning, authorities received surveillance footage showing Comer without the baby.

“So certainly, we got worried,” Koon said. “Hoping and praying that he dropped the baby with another person. As the day went on, and nobody came forward, it was certainly more and more concerning.”

More than 100 first responders from local, state and federal agencies joined the search party for the missing baby and discovered “freshly disturbed dirt” about 50 yards into the woods from Comer’s father’s house, Koon said.

As authorities began to dig, they started to hear Koah cry. “So as you imagine, the race was on,” Koon said. “Everybody’s getting down there trying to get him out.”

Koah had been buried inside the crate in the shallow hole for about 24 hours by the time authorities rescued him, Koon said.

The sheriff said he believes the towel wrapped around the crate “probably created an air pocket, if you can imagine.”

While the boy remained “clinging to life” in the hospital Tuesday, Koon said he hopes the 11-month-old will “make a full recovery.”

“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 added.

Meanwhile, the baby’s father was located in an outbuilding at a home Monday night. “Of course, he didn’t have much to say about the whereabouts of the baby at that time.,” the sheriff said.

Comer was initially arrested on burglary and resisting arrest charges. Authorities are working with the local solicitor’s office to determine additional charges.

A motive was not immediately known but the sheriff noted there had been a history of domestic violence incidents between Comer and Koah’s mother. The sheriff’s department said they would provide updates on the case as soon as they were available.

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