A South Carolina father stands accused of burying his 11-month-old son alive inside a dog crate, where authorities discovered the infant approximately 24 hours later “clinging to life” and “screaming at the top of his lungs.”
Michael Alexander Comer, 25, has been charged with burglary and resisting arrest, with additional charges expected to follow, Lexington County Sheriff Jay Koon announced during a press conference.
The desperate search for baby Koah Sharpe commenced on Monday afternoon after Comer allegedly removed the child from his mother’s residence. Koah’s mother was his primary caregiver but had temporarily left him in Comer’s care while she briefly stepped out to run an errand, prior to a babysitter’s scheduled arrival at the home.
However, Comer allegedly departed with the child before the babysitter arrived.
Law enforcement immediately launched a search for both Comer and the infant. Authorities learned that Comer’s father resided nearby and located the residence with both doors left open and baby toys visible inside, yet found no trace of either Comer or Koah, according to the sheriff.
As Comer does not own a vehicle, authorities were unable to utilize license plate readers, Sheriff Koon explained. Investigators subsequently determined that Comer had been soliciting rides from various individuals and moving between multiple locations. Surveillance footage captured Comer walking through the Batesburg-Leesville area, though he appeared to be alone, with no child in sight.
On Monday evening, officers located Comer inside an outhouse on a property along Columbia Avenue in Batesburg, an encounter that resulted in the burglary and resisting arrest charges. Nevertheless, Koah’s whereabouts remained unknown, as Comer refused to disclose any information regarding the child’s location, according to Sheriff Koon.
Officers subsequently organized a search party comprising nearly 100 deputies and additional first responders to conduct a thorough search of the wooded area surrounding Comer’s father’s property on Tuesday. During the search, investigators identified an area approximately 50 feet from the residence where the soil appeared to have been recently disturbed.
“And as they probed it and laid it out and started digging, you could hear little Koah crying. So as you imagine, the race was on. Everybody’s getting down there trying to get him out,” Koon stated.
Upon reaching Koah, officers found the infant wrapped in a towel and confined inside a dog crate measuring two feet by two feet. The boy was described as “clinging to life” while crying.
“The most joyful sound you ever heard, a crying baby, much like when your children were born,” the sheriff remarked.
Sheriff Koon expressed his belief that the crate had provided just sufficient airflow to sustain the boy for approximately 24 hours. The relatively cool temperatures in the region were also credited as a contributing factor in baby Koah’s survival.
“So a lot of things were going in Koah’s favor and the good Lord looked down on him,” Koon said. “Hopefully at 11 months old, he will not remember much of this as he grows older. Just have a great, inspiring story to tell.”
The infant was subsequently transported to a medical facility for treatment and is expected to make a full recovery.
“He was screaming at the top of his lungs, which is a good thing in the baby world, I would guess,” Koon added.
Comer’s mother, Patricia Comer, disclosed to NBC News that Koah’s mother held full custody of the child, and that she herself would care for her grandson on weekends. She noted that Michael Comer had previously looked after the child without incident.
Patricia Comer recalled receiving a phone call from the babysitter, who had knocked on the door of the residence and received no response.
“Something just did not feel right. I told my boss, ‘I need to leave work,'” Patricia Comer said. “Call it mother’s instinct. I don’t know what it was.”
Upon arriving at the home and finding no trace of her son or grandson, she contacted law enforcement.
Michael Comer has faced three separate arrests during the current year on charges of domestic violence and assault and is currently serving a term of probation. He remains held at the Lexington County Detention Center without bond, pending the filing of additional charges.
Patricia Comer stated that she had “never expected” her son to engage in the conduct of which he stands accused, but acknowledged that he is now “where he needs to be” , in the custody of law enforcement.
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