An 11-month-old South Carolina boy survived roughly 24 hours buried inside a dog crate, a horrifying discovery that turned a missing-child search into a desperate rescue.
Koah Sharpe remained hospitalized and “clinging to life” Tuesday afternoon, according to the New York Post, which cited reporting from WIS 10 and Lexington County Sheriff Jay Koon.
Authorities found the baby locked inside a towel-wrapped crate in a shallow woodland hole about 50 yards from his father’s house. Searchers spotted freshly disturbed dirt and pine straw Tuesday. Once they began digging, they heard crying.
“So as you imagine, the race was on,” Koon said. “Everybody’s getting down there trying to get him out.”
The crate measured about 2 feet by 2 feet. Koon estimated that Koah had spent around 24 hours beneath the dirt and suggested the towel around the crate may have helped create an air pocket.
“By the grace of God, [the crate] probably provided enough air for him to survive our estimation of the last 24 hours under that dirt,” the sheriff said.
The search began after Koah disappeared Monday with his father, 25-year-old Michael Comer. Comer’s mother had been babysitting and briefly left the child with him 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.
Relatives reported Koah missing Monday afternoon. Investigators found his belongings at Comer’s residence, where both doors stood open, but neither father nor son was there. More than 100 first responders from local, state and federal agencies participated in the search.
No Amber Alert was issued. Koon said Comer lacked access to a car and authorities did not have vehicle information. The report noted that Justice Department requirements call for sufficient descriptive information about the child, suspect and abduction, often including license plate details.
Investigators believe Comer traveled between several locations Monday by getting rides. Officers found him that night in a Batesburg shed and arrested him on burglary and resisting-arrest charges.
“Of course, he didn’t have much to say about the whereabouts of the baby at that time,” Koon said.
Comer remained jailed Tuesday afternoon, with additional charges related to Koah’s disappearance still to be determined. Authorities had not established a motive. Koon also described prior domestic violence incidents involving Comer and Koah’s mother.
According to WIS 10’s reporting on court records, Comer had been placed on probation just one month earlier after pleading guilty to aggravated breach of peace. He had also been arrested earlier in the year for domestic violence and a weapons-related offense. Quite a backdrop for someone entrusted with a helpless child.
For now, the focus belongs on Koah and the responders who heard his cries and got him out. Koon expressed hope that the baby would “make a full recovery.” Survival was extraordinary; recovery remained the urgent concern.
Anyone affected by domestic violence can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE (7233) or text START to 88788.
