Infant found alive after 24 hours buried in dog crate in South Carolina

An 11-month-old boy named Koah Sharp was found alive after spending a full day buried underground in a dog crate in Lexington County, South Carolina, authorities said. The child, described by the sheriff as "clinging to life" and "screaming at the top of his lungs" when dug out, was taken to hospital; his condition was not immediately known.

Koah disappeared on a Monday while his grandmother, his custodian, ran an errand and left him in the care of his father, Michael Comer. By the time a second caregiver arrived, Comer and the baby were gone. Surveillance video from local businesses showed Comer that afternoon without the infant. Nearly 100 first responders combed the countryside for a day before a patch of freshly disturbed soil in the woods near the grandfather's home led them to the crate, wrapped in a towel, roughly a foot below the surface.

Sheriff Jay Koon said the towel probably created an air pocket that let the boy breathe, and cool temperatures may also have helped. Comer, 25, was arrested Monday night and held without bond on a burglary charge; investigators are working with prosecutors on further counts. It was not immediately known whether he had a lawyer.

The court record gives the case its shape. In October, Comer pleaded guilty to domestic violence and aggravated breach of peace from a July arrest; prosecutors dropped a gun charge as part of the deal, and he was sentenced to probation. Koon noted the parents "have had some situations" regarding domestic violence charges and that "children sometimes get caught in the middle." Koah's great aunt, Amber Hammond, who watched the recovery, told the Associated Press: "We're better now that we know that Koah is safe."

A month before the boy went missing, the plea deal spared his father a gun charge and prison.