An 11-month-old South Carolina infant, Koah Sharp, was found alive after being buried underground in a dog crate for about 24 hours, the Associated Press reported. Authorities say the boy’s father, Michael Comer, 25, put him there. Rescuers heard the child crying from below the ground after a full day of searching in the woods near Batesburg-Leesville, and the boy is expected to recover. Comer has been charged with attempted murder.
11-month-old Koah was found wrapped in a towel in the dog crate, about a foot underground, when the rescue team discovered him. And at the same time I hit my knees and I’m just crying. ” Michael Comer, 25, the father of the infant, is in custody, facing charges of attempted murder, unlawful conduct towards a child, custodial interference and burglary, the sheriff’s office said. Authorities have not revealed a motive.
The infant was soon freed and was “clinging to life”, the sheriff told reporters. He told AP that the child was crying and covered in dirt. John Comer said he felt a rush of joy that left him on his knees. The sheriff said “there were obviously some issues” recently between the child’s parents; however, he did not specify the details. Koah, who is nearly a year old, loves watching Mickey Mouse cartoons, his aunt Hammond said. John Comer said he had never heard the boy cry before he was found underground.
Koah’s grandfather, John Comer, witnessed the moment the boy was brought out. Soon after, the crying stopped. The infant was then placed on the back of a truck and sat up. “I became ecstatic, my hands straight in the air. I’m looking in the sky, jumping up and down, praising God. He was arrested while hiding in a building in Batesburg-Leesville. A court hearing for Comer was scheduled for Thursday. It was not immediately clear whether he had a lawyer who could respond to the charges. For his grandfather, the most important detail is what Koah was like before all of this. “He’s always been happy. The kid’s always got a smile on his face. You use AI every day. Now get your AI Quotient. Take the AIQ test.
Join conversation Share your thoughts in the comments Be respectful · TOI community guidelines Meanwhile, Comer had pleaded guilty to criminal charges, including assault and battery and domestic violence, earlier this year, South Carolina court records show. The cool temperatures and an air pocket created by the towel helped the child stay alive, Lexington County Sheriff Jay Koon said on Tuesday.
A search party was launched, with more than 100 first responders looking for the baby. Because he did not want to be in the same state as the child’s mother, koah’s great-aunt, Amber Hammond, said her nephew had talked about taking the baby to New York.
“We had no idea something like this would happen at all,” she told the news agency. On Tuesday afternoon, while searching near John Comer’s house, they found “freshly disturbed” dirt about 50 yards into the woods, Koon said. As you can imagine, the race was on, everybody’s getting down there trying to get him out,” the sheriff said.
When Koah disappeared, she and others assumed Comer had handed the boy over to someone else. “As they probed it and laid it out and started digging, you could hear little Koah crying.
On Monday, November 9, Koah had been in the care of Patricia Comer, his paternal grandmother, authorities said. Concerned, Patricia Comer called 911. After receiving the 911 call, authorities arrived at John Comer’s house, which was just up the street from Patricia’s.
“I had a bad feeling that something was not right,” she told CNN affiliate WACH. Koah’s grandfather, John Comer, said his son had asked for a place to stay that same day, and he had agreed to take in his son and grandson. He now says he feels taken advantage of. They found the doors open, with “baby belongings in the house, but no sign of Michael or the baby”, the sheriff said.
She had to run an errand, so she left the boy with his father, Michael Comer, while another caregiver was on the way. By the time that caregiver arrived, both Michael Comer and the baby were gone. “It just seems like he already had this planned out, and he knew what he was doing. And he took the opportunity to do what he did. And if it hadn’t have been here, I don’t think anybody would have known where he would have went, and this would be a completely different story,” the grandfather recalled. Surveillance video from several businesses showed Comer without the child that afternoon.
The infant was discharged from hospital on Tuesday night and is expected to make a full recovery, the sheriff said.