A South Carolina father is charged with attempted murder after his 11-month-old Koah Sharp was found wrapped in a towel buried in a dog crate a foot underground. The baby miraculously survived after being trapped for 24 hours before being rescued. His medical team predicts he will make a full recovery.
Attempted Murder Charges
Michael Comer, 25, is facing multiple charges, including attempted murder after being accused of burying his son alive. Koah was found inside a wired dog crate a foot underground 24 hours after he went missing. He was taken to the hospital and was released Tuesday night, which was just a day after the search for him ensued in Lexington, South Carolina, 15 miles west of Columbia.
In addition to attempted murder, Comer is also charged with burglary, parole violation, child neglect, and transporting a child to avoid a custody proceeding. He was arrested Monday after fleeing with the child, but when police detained him, Koah was not with him.
Search For Baby Koah
The Lexington County Sheriff’s Department released updates on Facebook and held press conferences to bring Koah back to safety. Their latest update came Tuesday afternoon after the father was officially charged, and the child was placed with his mother.
“Koah was in the care of Comer’s mother. She left Koah with Comer to run an errand while another caregiver was coming over,” Lexington County Sheriff Jay Koon said. “When the caregiver got there, Comer was gone, and Koah was with him.”
Deputies traveled to Comer’s father’s home in search of the missing child, hoping it was a misunderstanding. While baby toys were strewn throughout the home, there were no signs of Comer or Koah. It was not until later that authorities came across surveillance footage showing Comer out and about, but the child was not seen with him.
Koon addressed why an Amber Alert was never issued, saying it was because no car was involved. “To be able to issue an Amber Alert, you have to have a known description of a car and a license plate to put that out,” Koon explained.
Rescuing The Infant
After arresting Comer Monday night, the search for Koah intensified. Over 100 men and women from various law enforcement and public safety agencies joined together to search for the missing infant. Koon said the search party noticed “freshly disturbed ground” on Comer’s father’s property and began focusing on that part.
Shortly after they began digging, they heard a baby crying. “As you can imagine, the race was on. Everyone was trying to get him out,” Koon said. “He immediately was placed in the care of EMS and transported to the hospital as soon as they got him out.”
Koah was found alive and has since been placed in the secure custody of family members, and Koon said he hopes that the child will not remember what has happened in the last 24 hours.
“A lot of things were going in Koah’s favor, and the good lord looked down on him in the last 24 hours, and hopefully, at 11 months old, he will not remember much of this as he grows older and just to have a great inspiring story to tell,” Koon said.
A Family Ruined
Koah’s mother is unfortunately pregnant and sick in the hospital, devastated she can not be there to soothe her traumatized infant. “This fundraiser was started because so many people on Facebook were asking how they could help,” GoFundMe organizer Kelsey Gray wrote.
“Right now, Dezerah is pregnant, sick, and in the hospital while her baby is traumatized and the family is trying to cope with everything they have been through.”
Comer has yet to enter a plea or appear in court in connection with the various charges that he is facing. He is currently being held at the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department. Comer has had previous guilty pleas and other violence-related charges in the past, but none this severe.
