An 11-month-old baby who had been reported missing in South Carolina was rescued on Tuesday after being buried alive in a dog crate for about 24 hours, the local authorities said.
The baby, Koah Sharpe, was found buried in a crate that was wrapped in a towel, crying and “clinging to life,” Sheriff Jay Koon of Lexington County, S.C., said at a news conference on Tuesday. The child’s father had disappeared with him the day before, prompting a widespread search by county and state officials, as well as the F.B.I.
Koah was receiving medical care at a hospital, Sheriff Koon said, adding that he hoped the child would make a full recovery. He did not elaborate on the extent of the child’s injuries.
Koah’s father, Michael A. Comer, 25, was in police custody after being arrested late Monday on burglary charges. The authorities said on Tuesday that they were preparing additional charges over the episode involving his son.
Mr. Comer had taken Koah away on Monday, Sheriff Koon said, after Mr. Comer’s mother left the two while they waited for another caregiver. Investigators soon issued a public appeal for information on their whereabouts. Mr. Comer did not have access to a car, they said, but was believed to have traveled to multiple locations in Lexington County.
Concerns grew after video footage showed Mr. Comer in Batesburg-Leesville, S.C., without the baby. When the authorities arrested him on Monday night, he did not have “much to say” about his son’s location, Sheriff Koon said.
Mr. Comer pleaded guilty earlier this year to domestic violence and aggravated breach of peace, according to state court records.
On Tuesday, Sheriff Koon said, investigators found a site in the woods near Mr. Comer’s father’s home with pine straw and freshly disturbed dirt.
“As they probed it and laid it out and started digging, you could hear little Koah crying,” the sheriff said. “As you can imagine, the race was on.”
The baby had been buried in a 2-by-2-foot dog crate with open wire slats, Sheriff Koon said. A towel wrapped around the crate likely created an air pocket, he added, and the cold weather could have helped the baby survive.
”A lot of things were going in Koah’s favor,” the sheriff said. “Hopefully, at 11 months old, he will not remember much about this as he grows older.”
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