11-Month-Old Baby Found Buried in Dog Crate After 24 Hours

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South Carolina authorities locate missing 11-month-old Koah Sharpe after 24 hours buried in a dog crate. Father suspected in the crime.

A tree is surrounded by yellow crime scene tape, indicating a restricted area for investigation.

2 min read

South Carolina authorities discovered missing 11-month-old Koah Sharpe inside a wire dog crate buried in a wooded area. Lexington County Sheriff Jay Koon said investigators located the young child after following the desperate sound of his cries, and estimate Sharpe was buried alive under a foot of dirt for approximately 24 hours before he was discovered.

“Certainly, God is good,” Koon said in a press conference, Tuesday, and shared by News 19. The baby was “clinging to life, crying,” Koon said. He told the press the baby was “buried in what I would call a dog crate, wrapped in a towel that, by the grace of God, probably provided enough air for him to survive,” he said. “It was the most joyful sound you ever heard of a crying baby.”

The child’s father, Michael Comer, is believed to be responsible for the heinous crime. The alarming situation began when Sharpe was left in the care of his paternal grandmother, Monday. Comer went to the residence and was left with his young son while the grandmother ran an errand. Another caretaker was on the way to the residence, but when they arrived, Comer and the baby were already gone.

By lunchtime Monday, deputies began to investigate. They went to Comer’s father’s residence and found the doors open and the baby’s belongings inside, but no sign of Comer or Sharpe. Koon said video footage showed Comer at various locations without the baby, but authorities faced the challenge of not being able to issue an Amber Alert because Comer didn’t have a car and wasn’t using one, so there was no license plate to report.

“Certainly we got worried, hoping and praying that he dropped the baby with another person,” the sheriff said. “As the day went on and nobody came forward, it was certainly more and more concerning.”

The frantic search for Sharpe led officials to a site not far from Comer’s father’s house, “probably about 50 yards in the woods,” where they discovered what Koon described as “freshly disturbed dirt.” As they probed it, and laid it out, and started digging, you could hear little Koah crying,” he told the press. “As you imagine, the race was on. Everybody’s getting down there trying to get him out,” Koon said.

The young baby was rushed to the hospital. Comer was arrested on charges of burglary and resisting arrest Monday night, before Sharpe was located. Investigators are working with prosecutors to determine additional charges he may face. An update on Sharpe’s condition was not disclosed.

Source: Daily Caller

Written by
claire.thomson

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