A South Carolina sheriff says deputies pulled an 11-month-old boy alive from a wire dog crate buried in the woods, more than a day after he vanished with his father.
Story Snapshot
- Koah Sharpe, 11 months old, was found alive in a buried dog crate near Parthenon Road in Lexington County.
- Searchers heard him crying before digging up the crate, which was wrapped in a towel that may have formed an air pocket.
- His father, Michael Comer, had taken the boy and was later arrested separately, without the child.
- Comer initially faced burglary and resisting arrest charges, with the solicitor’s office weighing further charges.
- Sheriff Jay Koon says the infant was likely buried for about 24 hours before rescue.
Child Found Alive After Day-Long Search
Lexington County Sheriff Jay Koon told local station WACH that deputies found Koah between 1:30 and 2:30 p.m. after searching for more than a day. Rescuers heard him crying before they uncovered the crate hidden under freshly disturbed dirt in wooded land. The search had stretched over roughly 24 hours since he was last seen with his father.
The crate was wrapped in a towel and shallowly covered with soil, according to WACH’s report. Investigators believe that towel may have created a small air pocket, which could help explain how the infant survived the ordeal. Koon described the boy as “clinging to life” when deputies reached him underground.
Search Led Investigators Close to Family Property
The rescue site sat roughly 50 yards from the home of the child’s paternal grandfather, according to The State. Searchers zeroed in on the spot after spotting ground that looked recently dug up. That detail gave investigators a concrete, physical link between the missing-child case and the hidden burial location.
The Lexington County Sheriff’s Department says Koah was taken by his father, Michael Comer, on a Monday afternoon. Comer was arrested later, but the baby was not with him at the time. Reuters reported the same sequence, noting Koah disappeared after being left in Comer’s care before his father’s separate arrest.
Charges So Far Focus on Burglary, Not Burial
Comer was initially booked on burglary and resisting arrest charges, according to the Sheriff’s Department and multiple news outlets. The solicitor’s office was still reviewing whether to file additional charges tied directly to the child’s burial. That distinction matters because the public record so far ties Comer to the disappearance and arrest, not yet to a formal charge describing how the crate ended up underground.
Station WISTV reported that Koon believed the boy had been buried for about 24 hours, based on the timeline between when he was last seen and when he was found. That estimate comes from investigators piecing together witness accounts and search logs, not from a released medical or forensic timestamp.
A Rare Case Inside a Common Pattern
Cases where a family member is investigated in a child’s disappearance are, statistically, far from rare. Research on child homicides across 35 countries found parents made up a median of 56.5% of perpetrators, while strangers accounted for just 2.1%. That broader pattern doesn’t prove what happened in this case, but it frames why investigators so often start close to home when a child goes missing.
The sheriff’s department has not released body-camera footage, search logs, or an arrest affidavit describing exactly how the crate was buried or by whom. Those records, if made public later, would offer a fuller picture of the timeline and evidence tying the scene to a specific person. For now, the confirmed facts are the rescue itself, the location, and Comer’s separate arrest.
Missing infant found buried alive in South Carolina. Here’s how the baby’s doing https://t.co/Nr2NqjcUr2
— The State Newspaper (@thestate) November 12, 2026
Koah’s survival after a reported day buried underground has drawn national attention, with outlets from CNN to local South Carolina stations covering the rescue. The case now moves toward further legal proceedings as the solicitor’s office decides what additional charges, if any, to pursue against Comer.
Sources:
washingtontimes.com, lexingtonscsheriff.com, newsnationnow.com, kiro7.com, wistv.com, 6abc.com, wbaltv.com
