Surviving burial in a dog crate for about 24 hours, an 11-month-old boy was pulled alive from a crate by emergency responders on Tuesday, according to local authorities.
Lexington County deputies found the infant, Koah Sharp, after tracking fresh soil in a wooded area near his grandfather’s home, Lexington County Sheriff Jay Koon reported. The child spent about 24 hours buried before officers heard his cries from beneath the dirt.
According to Koon, the infant survived the day-long ordeal thanks to a towel wrapped around the underground crate that provided a pocket of air, alongside the cool temperatures. First responders heard the infant screaming from the crate below ground and rushed to unearth the container.
“As you can imagine, the race was on.”
Medical staff treated the child at a hospital, discharging him Tuesday night following the rescue. Sheriff Koon confirmed the infant is expected to make a full recovery.
The boy’s father, 25-year-old Michael Comer, faces charges of attempted murder and other charges. Law enforcement officers located Comer hiding inside a building in Batesburg-Leesville and took him into custody.
Investigators said that Koah had initially been left in the care of Comer’s mother. While another caregiver was on the way, she briefly left to run an errand and entrusted the boy to Comer. By the time the caregiver got there, Michael was gone, and Koah was gone with him, according to the sheriff’s office.
Surveillance footage captured Comer without the baby on Monday afternoon. Great-aunt Amber Hammond told The Associated Press that family members assumed Comer had given the boy to someone when he vanished.
“We had no idea something like this would happen at all,” Hammond told The Associated Press.
Following an arrest in July, Comer entered guilty pleas to charges of domestic violence and aggravated breach-of-peace, which resulted in an October probation sentence according to Lexington County court documents. Prosecutors dropped a gun charge as part of that plea deal.
A court hearing was planned for Thursday.
