Towel may have supplied enough air during 24-hour burial, sheriff says
A search party found 11-month-old Koah Sharpe alive on Tuesday in woods in South Carolina after the child went missing while in the care of his father, according to the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department. Koah was wrapped inside a dog crate, and the crate was wrapped in a towel before being buried just beneath the soil, officials said. The department said Koah had been believed to have been buried for about 24 hours.
The sheriff’s department said Koah had gone missing after being allegedly taken by his father, Michael Comer. Sheriff Jay Koon said Koah was left in the care of Michael Comer at his mother’s home on Monday while she ran an errand. The boy was later reported missing, and authorities launched what Koon described as an expansive search.
Koon said about 100 people had been searching for Koah. The search party discovered “freshly disturbed” dirt in the woods about 50 yards (45 metres) from Comer’s father’s house. “As they started digging you could hear little Koah crying. So as you can imagine the race was on, everybody was down there trying to get him out,” Koon said.
Koon said the towel around the crate had “by the grace of God, probably provided enough air for [Koah] to survive by our estimation the last 24 hours under that dirt.”
Michael Comer, 25, was arrested Monday night on suspicion of burglary, Koon said. The sheriff’s department said it was working with prosecutors to determine whether additional charges would be filed against Comer.
At a news conference, Koon said: “Certainly God is good. Just a few moments ago, we found little Koah, 11 months old, buried alive, clinging to life, crying – the most joyful sound you ever heard of a crying baby.”
Koah was hospitalized, Koon said, and the sheriff added that the child would “hopefully” recover.
Koon also credited the search effort, saying: “We want to thank everybody and celebrate the fact today that an 11-month-old baby is alive.”