Infant Koah Sharpe Found Buried Alive in Dog Crate in South Carolina
An 11-month-old boy was rescued after being buried alive in a dog crate in South Carolina, a day after his father allegedly took him. Sheriff Bryan Koon confirmed the baby survived roughly 24 hours underground.
Baby found buried alive in dog crate near father's home in Lexington County
An 11-month-old boy was pulled alive from a shallow grave in South Carolina on Tuesday afternoon, roughly 24 hours after authorities say his father abducted him, NBC News reports.
Baby Koah Sharpe — described as a 20-pound boy with reddish hair — was discovered inside a wire dog crate, approximately two feet by two feet, that had been wrapped in a towel and buried in a wooded area about 50 yards from the home of his paternal grandfather in Lexington County.
"That, by the grace of God, probably provided enough air for him to survive — our estimation is for the last 24 hours under that dirt," Lexington County Sheriff Bryan Koon told reporters.
Searchers located the site around 1:30 p.m. Tuesday after spotting freshly disturbed earth near the property. As they began to probe and dig, they heard the infant crying.
"As they probed it and laid it out and started digging, you could hear little Koah crying," Koon said. "So, as you can imagine, the race was on."
The baby was transported to hospital, where he was being treated Tuesday afternoon. Koon said he was hopeful for a full recovery.
"He was screaming at the top of his lungs, which is a good thing in the baby world, I would guess," the sheriff said.
Father arrested on burglary charge before baby was located
Koah's father, Michael Comer, was taken into custody late Monday night in Lexington County on a burglary charge after deputies found him in an outbuilding. The infant was not with him at the time of his arrest.
According to Koon, Comer's mother, Patricia Comer, had been looking after Koah on Monday morning. Comer arrived at the home and his mother left for work, with another caregiver due to arrive shortly after.
"By the time the caregiver got there, Michael was gone and Koah was gone with him," Koon said.
Deputies responding to the initial report visited the home of Comer's father on Monday and found the doors open and baby items inside, but no sign of either Comer or the child.
A search involving nearly 100 police officers, firefighters and other officials was launched. Agencies including the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives all participated in the effort.
Koon noted that cool weather conditions may have improved Koah's chances of survival, alongside the air pocket likely formed by the towel wrapping the crate.
"A lot of things were going in Koah's favor, and the good Lord looked down on him the last 24 hours," he said.
Authorities confirmed they were working with the prosecutor's office on additional charges against Comer. It was not immediately clear whether he had legal representation.
Grandmother says she had no warning signs
Patricia Comer, speaking by phone on Tuesday, expressed shock at her son's alleged actions and said his arrest was "where he needs to be."
"Honestly, I'm his mother, and I never expected this from him," she said.
She explained that Koah's mother holds full custody of the child but had been allowing Patricia Comer to supervise him on weekends. There was no custody arrangement barring Michael Comer from watching the infant unsupervised, something he had done previously without incident, she said.
Patricia Comer said she went to work Monday morning leaving Koah in his father's care. At around 11 a.m., a friend went to the home to drop off formula and received no answer, prompting her to call Patricia Comer.
"Something just did not feel right. I told my boss, 'I need to leave work,'" she said. "Call it mother's instinct. I don't know what it was."
When she returned home, Comer had already left with the baby.
She described her son's alleged conduct as "pure evil" and said there had been no prior warning signs. She noted that he had recently served a jail term after drunkenly going to the home of an ex-partner of Koah's mother, and that since his release "all he does is go to work and come home."
Patricia Comer also addressed criticism directed at her personally.
"Just know that if I could have prevented this, I would have done everything in my power," she said. "I had no idea this was going to happen."
She thanked the Lexington County Sheriff's Department and all the agencies that participated in the search.
"I did not know he would do anything like this," she said. "He's always been so good with Koah. Who would think their own child would do something like this?"
Source: Google News MT