11-month-old rescued after being buried in a dog crate in South Carolina

Lexington County Sheriff Bryan Koon said an 11-month-old boy, Koâh Sharpe, was discovered alive on Tuesday after being buried in a shallow hole inside a dog crate wrapped in a towel. The child had been reported missing on Monday when his father, Michael Comer, took him from the care of his mother’s mother. Police located Comer later that night on a burglary charge and for resisting arrest, but he was not found with the child.

Koon described the crate as a two-by-two-foot wire enclosure and estimated that Sharpe had been underground for up to 24 hours. Search teams of nearly 100 officers, firefighters and other officials dug at a site near Comer’s father’s home after finding disturbed earth in the woods. "As they probed it and laid it out and started digging, you could hear little Koah crying," Koon said.

The infant was rescued, taken to a hospital and is receiving care, with officials expressing hope for a full recovery. The sheriff noted that Sharpe’s mother has full custody and that the child’s grandmother supervises him on weekends, but there was no legal restriction preventing Comer from watching the child unsupervised. Authorities are coordinating with the prosecutor’s office regarding Comer’s charges.

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