Baby Found Alive After Being Buried in South Carolina

An 11-month-old boy was found alive in a shallow grave in the woods in South Carolina on Tuesday, after he was believed to have been buried for about 24 hours, the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department said.

The infant, Koah Sharpe, was found wrapped in a towel in a dog crate under dirt about 50 yards into the woods near his father’s father’s house, Sheriff Jay Koon said. The baby was crying when rescuers dug him out.

“Certainly God is good. Just a few moments ago, we found little Koah, 11 months old, buried alive, clinging to life, crying — the most joyful sound you ever heard of a crying baby.”

Koah is in the hospital, and the sheriff said he “hopefully will make a full recovery.” Koon said he believes the towel helped create an air pocket.

Koah went missing Monday afternoon. Koon said he had been left in the care of his father, 25-year-old Michael Comer, at Comer’s mother’s home while she ran an errand. By the time another caregiver arrived, the father and son were gone.

Deputies found Comer late Monday in an outbuilding at a house in Batesburg, but not the baby. Koon said Comer “didn’t have much to say about the whereabouts of the baby.” Comer was arrested on burglary and resisting arrest charges. The sheriff’s department is working with the solicitor’s office to determine additional charges.

Nearly 100 first responders joined the search. They found “freshly disturbed” dirt on Tuesday afternoon.

“As they probed it and laid it out and started digging, you could hear little Koah crying.”