Missing 11-month-old baby found buried alive in dog crate; father arrested
(Koah Sharpe survived for 24 hours after being buried alive)
An 11-month-old South Carolina baby boy has survived a horrifying ordeal after first responders found him buried alive inside a dog crate in the woods, approximately 24 hours after he disappeared while in his father’s care.
Miracle baby Koah Sharpe was discovered Tuesday afternoon, November 10, beneath roughly one foot of dirt, locked inside a small wire dog crate wrapped in a towel. The infant was found in a wooded area near his paternal grandfather’s home in Lexington County, South Carolina.
The discovery followed an urgent search involving nearly 100 law enforcement officers and other emergency personnel after Koah’s family reported him missing Monday afternoon.
According to Lexington County Sheriff Jay Koon, Koah had been left in the care of his paternal grandmother while another caregiver was on the way. When that caregiver arrived, 25-year-old Michael Comer, the baby’s father, had disappeared with the child.
Investigators eventually located Comer Monday night hiding in an outbuilding in Batesburg. He was arrested on charges of burglary and resisting arrest. However, the baby was nowhere to be found, and Comer reportedly offered little information about his son’s whereabouts.
The search intensified Tuesday, when investigators noticed freshly disturbed dirt and pine straw approximately 50 yards into the woods near the grandfather’s property.
As officers began probing and digging into the area, they heard something extraordinary: a baby crying beneath the ground.
Rescuers quickly dug through the dirt and pulled Koah from the buried crate. Sheriff Koon described the infant as being “clinging to life” but crying loudly when he was discovered. Investigators estimate the baby had been underground for approximately 24 hours. The sheriff believes the towel wrapped around the crate may have created a small air pocket that allowed the Koah to survive.
Koah was rushed to a hospital, where he was receiving medical treatment. Authorities expressed hope that he would make a full recovery.
“Everybody’s getting down there trying to get him out,” Koon said, describing the frantic moments after rescuers heard the baby’s cries.
Father Faces Additional Charges
The father remains in custody as investigators work with prosecutors to determine additional charges related to the baby’s disappearance and alleged burial.Authorities have not established a motive for the incident. However, Sheriff Koon acknowledged that there had been previous domestic violence incidents involving Comer and the baby’s mother.
The father’s criminal history also includes a guilty plea to aggravated breach of peace, for which he was placed on probation approximately one month before the incident. He had also reportedly faced a domestic violence case and a weapons-related offense earlier in the year.
Despite the terrifying circumstances, the sheriff emphasized the extraordinary outcome of the search, expressing gratitude that the infant had been found alive.
For the nearly 100 first responders involved, the sound of Koah crying from beneath the dirt was a moment they will not soon forget.
An investigation remains ongoing, and additional charges against Comer are pending.
For more on this horrific story, see the video below.
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(Sources: MSN, CNN, ABC News, New York Post)
Posted by Richard Webster, Ace News Today
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