Missing South Carolina baby rescued after being buried alive

When an 11-month-old baby went missing in South CarolinaDozens of first responders combed the countryside for the “bright boy with reddish blonde hair” who the sheriff’s office said had disappeared while his grandmother was out running errands.

After a full day of searching, authorities found freshly turned up dirt in the woods not far from the boy’s grandfather’s house. They began digging and soon discovered little Koah Sharp, who was “clinging to life” after being buried alive in a dog cage wrapped in a towel, the sheriff said.

“Certainly, God is good,” Lexington County Sheriff Jay Koon said at a news conference Tuesday, shortly after Koah’s discovery. “He was screaming at the top of his lungs, which is a good thing in the world of babies, I guess.”

The child’s father, Michael Comer, 25, was arrested and held without bail on burglary charges, Koon said. Investigators were working with prosecutors to confirm new charges, he said.

An air pocket probably kept the boy alive

The towel likely created an air pocket that allowed the boy to breathe in the cage, the sheriff said. Cool temperatures may also have helped.

Koah, who went missing Monday in the county just west of Colombiawas taken to hospital. His condition was not immediately known Wednesday. Nearly 100 first responders participated in the search.

“We’re better now that we know Koah is safe,” his great-aunt, Amber Hammond, told the Associated Press. She watched him free himself from the crate.

Officers who searched the grandfather’s house found the doors open and the baby’s belongings inside, but they did not see Comer or the child, the sheriff said. Then the excavations began.

“It was shallow,” Koon said. “I think once that crate hit the ground, it was probably about a foot from the top of that crate to the top of the floor.”

It was not immediately known whether Comer had an attorney. No phone number could be found for him. The AP sent emails requesting information from the public defender and prosecutors.

Surveillance video shows dad but not son

Authorities said Koah was in the custody of Comer’s mother. She had to run an errand and left the boy in Comer’s care while another caregiver was on the way, Koon said.

“By the time the caregiver arrived, Michael was gone and Koah was gone with him,” the sheriff said.

Surveillance videos from several area businesses showed Comer without the baby Monday afternoon, Koon said. The father was found Monday evening and arrested.

Koah’s parents “had some situations” regarding domestic violence charges, the sheriff said.

“Children,” he said, “sometimes find themselves caught in the middle. »

Hammond said his nephew talked about taking the baby to New York because “he didn’t want to be in the same state as the mother.” When Koah disappeared, she and others assumed Comer had given the boy to someone.

“We had no idea something like this would happen,” Hammond said.

Comer was sentenced to probation in October after pleading guilty to domestic violence and aggravated breach of peace charges related to an arrest in July, according to Lexington County online court records. Prosecutors dropped gun-related charges as part of the plea deal. He was also found to have spent more than two months in prison.

At almost a year old, Koah is trying to fend for himself, said Hammond, who cared for him last weekend. And he already has some TV favorites.

“I was going to feed him, and there was Mickey Mouse,” Hammond said. “You can’t feed him and have Mickey Mouse at the same time.”

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Associated Press writers Dave Collins and Michael R. Sisak contributed to this story.