An 11-month-old baby boy who had been taken by his father in South Carolina was rescued on Tuesday afternoon after being buried alive in a dog crate, authorities said.
The baby, Koah Sharpe, was found “clinging to life” after authorities conducted an urgent search for him, ABC News reported. Lexington County Sheriff Jay Koon said they believe Koah spent about 24 hours buried alive before he was found.
The baby boy was discovered wrapped in a towel in the dog crate, which was shallowly buried in the woods, “crying the most joyful sound you ever heard of a crying baby,” Koon said at a press conference on Tuesday.
“Certainly, God is good,” the sheriff said.
Authorities began searching for Koah and his 25-year-old father Michael Comer on Monday afternoon, according to the sheriff’s office.
Comer was watching Koah at his mother’s home while she ran an errand, Koon said. Another caregiver was coming to the house, but by the time the individual arrived, both Koah and Comer were gone, the sheriff said.
Deputies located Comer later that evening in the Batesburg-Leesville area, but Koah was not with him.
Koah’s disappearance prompted a search party of more than 100 first responders who began urgently looking for the baby, Koon said.
The sheriff said the search part was looking near Comer’s father’s house on Tuesday afternoon when they found “freshly disturbed” dirt in the woods, about 50 yards from the house.
“As they probed it and laid it out and started digging, you could hear little Koah crying,” Koon said. “As you imagine, the race was on, everybody’s getting down there trying to get him out.”
The baby was transported to a nearby hospital and is receiving. The sheriff said the child will “hopefully make a full recovery.”
Koon said, based on the timeline, they believe the child may have been buried for up to 24 hours. He said he believes the towel he was buried in created an “air pocket” that allowed him to survive.
“Hopefully at 11 months old, he will not remember much of this as he grows older, just to have a great inspiring story to tell,” the sheriff said.
Comer was initially arrested on burglary and resisting arrest charges, and authorities are working to determine additional charges, Koon said.
“We want to thank everybody and just celebrate the fact today that an 11-month-old baby is alive,” he said.
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