South Carolina Police Arrest Father After 11-Month-Old Baby Survives 24 Hours Buried Underground

BATESBURG-LEESVILLE, S.C. — An 11-month-old boy was pulled alive from a shallow grave in the South Carolina woods after spending roughly 24 hours entombed inside a buried dog crate, authorities confirmed.

Lexington County deputies charged the child’s father, 25-year-old Michael Comer, with attempted murder after search teams tracked the infant by the sound of muffled cries rising from under the forest floor. The baby, identified as Koah Sharp, was wrapped in a single towel inside a plastic carrier buried about one foot beneath the dirt. He was treated at a local hospital, discharged late Tuesday night, and is expected to make a full recovery.

A total of more than 100 first responders had combed the dense pine woods near Batesburg-Leesville before spotting freshly disturbed soil roughly 50 yards into the tree line on Tuesday afternoon.

The Race Against Time in Lexington County Woods

Rescuers scraped through topsoil with their bare hands the moment whimpers filtered up through the earth.

The boy was clinging to life. Lexington County Sheriff Jay Koon confirmed that two physical factors shielded the child from suffocation: unseasonably cool autumn temperatures that slowed his metabolic distress, and a small pocket of oxygen formed by the towel draped inside the crate. When deputies wrenched the carrier free, the infant was coated in red dirt. Moments later, he sat up on the tailgate of an emergency truck.

The ordeal began on Monday, November 9, when Koah’s grandmother, Patricia Comer, left the infant briefly in his father's custody while running an errand ahead of an arriving caregiver. When the second caregiver arrived minutes later, both Michael Comer and the infant had vanished. Patricia Comer immediately dialed 911.

Investigators quickly moved to the home of Koah’s grandfather, John Comer, located up the street. The front doors stood wide open. Inside, officers found the baby’s belongings scattered across the rooms, but no sign of father or child. Commercial surveillance cameras nearby later captured Michael Comer walking alone that afternoon. Amber Hammond, the infant's great-aunt, stated that Comer had previously threatened to take the infant to New York to separate the boy from his mother.

Charges, Prior Convictions, and Judicial Proceedings

Police captured Comer later that evening, cornering him inside an abandoned commercial structure in Batesburg-Leesville where he had barricaded himself.

Lexington County prosecutors booked Comer on four separate charges: attempted murder, unlawful conduct towards a child, custodial interference, and burglary. While investigators cited longstanding friction between the child's parents, an official motive remains under investigation. State judicial records reveal Comer is no stranger to law enforcement; he pleaded guilty earlier this year to domestic violence and assault and battery charges.

Comer remains held without bail at the Lexington County Detention Center, with a preliminary magistrate court hearing set for Thursday morning.