Missing baby in South Carolina found buried alive a day after authorities say his father took him

Missing baby in South Carolina found buried alive a day after authorities say his father took him Advertisement Updated: 4:34 AM CST Nov 11, 2026 Editorial Standards ⓘ Stephanie Moore Digital Content Manager Missing baby in South Carolina found buried alive a day after authorities say his father took him Updated: 4:34 AM CST Nov 11, 2026 Editorial Standards ⓘ Stephanie Moore Digital Content Manager LEXINGTON, S.C. — A baby in South Carolina, who authorities say was taken by his father, was found alive Tuesday, buried in a dog crate in the woods after apparently spending about 24 hours underground, according to the Lexington County Sheriff's Office. Koah Sharpe, an 11-month-old boy, was taken by his father, Michael Comer, on Monday afternoon, according to investigators. On Monday night, Comer, 25, was found and arrested on a burglary charge, but Koah was not with him. Advertisement Lexington County Sheriff's Department Lexington County Sheriff's Department Investigators searched for Koah near Comer’s father’s house, and they found pine straw and “freshly disturbed dirt,” Sheriff Jay Koon said during a news conference on Tuesday. Once they started digging, they heard Koah crying. “It was the most joyful sound you ever heard of a crying baby,” he added. They said they believed the child could have been buried for about 24 hours in a dog crate that had been wrapped in a towel. Koah was taken to a hospital after the rescue. Comer was arrested on charges of burglary and resisting arrest, Koon said. Investigators are working with prosecutors on additional charges Comer could face, the sheriff said. Timeline of the case Koah had been in the care of his paternal grandmother Monday when Comer came over, Koon said. The grandmother went to run an errand and left Koah with Comer while another caregiver was on the way. When that caregiver arrived, Comer and the baby were gone. Deputies were called around lunchtime Monday and after some investigation went to a home where Comer’s father lives, Koon said. They found the doors open and the baby’s belongings inside – but no sign of the child or his father. Investigators obtained video showing Comer at several locations without the baby as authorities searched for the pair Monday, according to Koon. “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.” Comer was found later that night in an outbuilding at a property in Batesburg and arrested, Koon said. But Koah was not with him. The urgent search for the baby continued into Tuesday, involving nearly 100 law enforcement officers and other public safety personnel. Eventually a search team noticed freshly disturbed dirt in pine straw about 50 yards into the woods near the home of Comer’s father, Koon said. As investigators began searching the site and digging, they heard the baby crying. “As you imagine, the race was on. Everybody’s getting down there trying to get him out,” Koon said. The baby was pulled from the buried crate and “screaming at the top of his lungs,” Koon said. Koon estimated the child was underground for about 24 hours. He said the towel around the wire crate “probably created an air pocket.” Mother and two young children killed in Missouri crash after semitruck struck their minivan Make WISN a preferred source on Google Add Preferred Source Share Infinite Scroll Enabled Top Picks Stacy Keach, star of stage and 'Mike Hammer' series, dies at 85 Video shows small plane clipping pickup truck while landing on busy Florida road Ole Miss student apologizes after video showing women making racist gestures sparks backlash Democrats will now control more states. Could that mean an effective end to the Electoral College?