Insets, from left: Michael Comer and Koah Sharpe (Lexington County Sheriff's Office). Background: South Carolina authorities investigate after Comer allegedly buried baby Koah alive in a dog crate (WWL).
A South Carolina father is accused of burying his 11-month-old son in a dog crate, where authorities discovered the boy 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, but more charges are forthcoming, Lexington County Sheriff Jay Koon told reporters at a press conference.
The frantic search for baby Koah Sharpe began on Monday afternoon when Comer allegedly took him from the boy's mother's house. Koah's mother typically cared for her baby but temporarily left him with Comer while she ran an errand before a babysitter arrived at the home.
But Comer allegedly took off with his son before the babysitter arrived.
Police began looking for Comer and the baby. They learned Comer's father lived nearby and found the house with both doors open and baby toys, but no sign of Comer or Koah, according to the sheriff.
Comer does not have a car, so authorities were unable to use license plate readers, Koon said. Authorities later learned that Comer was "bumming rides" and going from place to place. They recovered video of Comer walking in the Batesburg-Leesville area, but with no baby.
On Monday night, cops found Comer in an outhouse on a property off Columbia Avenue in Batesburg, which is what led to the burglary and resisting arrest charges. But there was still no sign of Koah and Comer wasn't giving up any information, Koon said.
Officers organized a search party of nearly 100 deputies and other first responders to comb the woods around Comer's father's house on Tuesday. They discovered an area about 50 feet from the home with freshly disturbed dirt.
"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 said.
When officers reached Koah, he was wrapped in a towel and inside a dog crate measuring 2 feet by 2 feet. The boy was "clinging to life" and crying.
"The most joyful sound you ever heard, a crying baby, much like when your children were born," the sheriff said.
Koon said he believed the crate provided just enough air for the boy to survive for about 24 hours. The cool weather in the area also helped baby Koah survive.
"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."
He was taken to the hospital for treatment but is expected to survive.
"He was screaming at the top of his lungs, which is a good thing in the baby world, I would guess," Koon said.
Comer's mother, Patricia Comer, told NBC News that Koah's mother had full custody of the child and she would watch her grandson on the weekends. Michael Comer had watched the child before with no issues, his mom said.
She said she got a phone call from the babysitter who had knocked on the door but received no answer.
"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."
When she went to the home and saw no sign of her son or grandson, she called police.
Michael Comer has been arrested three times this year for domestic violence and assault, and is on probation. He remains at the Lexington County Jail without bond and awaiting additional charges.
Patricia Comer said she "never expected" her son to do the things he's accused of doing, but said that he is now "where he needs to be" — in police custody.
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