11-month-old found buried alive in dog crate went home to family the same night

BATESBURG-LEESVILLE, S.C. (WRDW/WAGT/Gray News) — An 11-month-old boy who was buried alive in a dog crate was released from a South Carolina hospital and is back home with his family after he was dug out of a grave.

Koah Sharp was rescued nearly 24 hours after he was reported missing. He is expected to make a full recovery, according to his medical team.

Koah’s disappearance led to a large law enforcement effort that ended with the arrest of his 25-year-old father, Michael Comer.

The grave

On Wednesday, Koah’s grandfather took WRDW to the grave in a wooded area off Parthenon Road in Lexington County. The area has trees spaced apart, sparse brush and ground covered in pine straw.

The hole has been filled in. The grandfather used a pointed finger to show the edges of the 2-foot-by-2-foot grave, then pulled aside the pine straw to show the dirt below.

Koah was found Tuesday, buried inside a dog crate a foot below the surface, crying “at the top of his lungs,” Lexington County Sheriff Jay Koon said.

Koon said the wire dog crate was wrapped in a towel that trapped enough air for Koah to survive for about 24 hours. He said the 45-degree outdoor temperature likely slowed the boy’s metabolism.

Koon said “a lot of things were going in Koah’s favor,” including the large response from law enforcement, the searcher who noticed the disturbed ground, the 45-degree outdoor temperature and the towel that created the air pocket.

“The Good Lord looked down on him,” Koon said.

How it unfolded

According to authorities, Comer had Koah for about four days after getting out of jail for other offenses.

Authorities were told of messages Comer sent to Koah’s mother in which he reportedly threatened to keep the child or gain custody, said he felt like killing himself and planned to move to New York.

On Monday, Comer’s mother was caring for the boy in Gaston, according to authorities. She left to run an errand, and another caregiver was on the way.

“By the time the caregiver got there, Michael was gone, and Koah was gone with him,” Koon said.

Authorities said Comer left Gaston around 9 a.m. and was in Batesburg-Leesville around noon. Koon said that is probably when Koah was buried.

A relative filed a missing-person report by 3 p.m. Authorities said Comer went to several locations Monday without a car, which made it difficult to determine where the boy might be.

“We found some video of Michael in and around Batesburg-Leesville with no baby,” Koon said. “So certainly, we got worried, hoping and praying that he dropped the baby with another person. As the day went on and nobody came forward, it was certainly more and more concerning.”

Arrest and charges

Around 10 p.m. Monday, authorities found Comer, without Koah, in a shed that did not belong to him. He was arrested and charged with burglary.

Charges related to Koah were added later: attempted murder, unlawful conduct toward a child and custodial interference.

Bond was denied for Comer on Thursday morning.

A month earlier, Comer was placed on probation after pleading guilty to aggravated breach of peace. Court records also showed he was arrested earlier this year on a domestic violence count and a weapons-related count.

His next court appearance is set for Dec. 10.

The search and rescue

A South Carolina Law Enforcement Division helicopter logged several flights in the area of Parthenon Road on Monday night and early Tuesday.

Authorities focused on the area where Comer’s father lives.

Around 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, one of about 100 searchers noticed a disturbed section of ground about 50 yards into the nearby woods. Crime scene technicians checked the area.

“You could hear little Koah crying,” Koon said. “As you can imagine, the race was on. Everybody’s getting down there trying to get him out.”

Koah was taken to a hospital around 2 p.m. Tuesday. He went home that night.