Missing 11-month-old baby found buried in woods after his dad disappeared with him

Thursday, November 12, 2026 - A missing 11-month-old baby was found buried alive in a dog crate in South Carolina, over 24 hours after he was allegedly taken by his deadbeat dad. 

Little Koah Sharpe was found locked inside a dog crate that was wrapped in a towel and buried in a shallow hole on Tuesday, November 10, a day after he was last seen with his father, 25-year-old Michael Comer, WIS 10 reported, citing Lexington County Sheriff Jay Koon.  

“By the grace of God, [the crate] probably provided enough air for him to survive our estimation of the last 24 hours under that dirt,” Koon told reporters Tuesday. 

Comer’s mother had been watching Koah before briefly leaving him in his father’s care in the morning while another caregiver was on the way.  

“By the time the caregiver got there, Michael was gone and Koah was gone with him,” the sheriff said. 

Koah’s other relatives filed a missing person report Monday afternoon, November 9. 

More than 100 first responders from local, state and federal agencies searched for the missing baby, Koon said. 

Koah’s belongings were found at Comer’s residence Monday afternoon, where both doors to the home were left open, but there was no sign of the father or son. 

Investigators believe Comer was in multiple locations across the county on Monday and was “bumming rides, calling rides, just getting rides from place to place,” the sheriff noted. 

Later that night, cops found Comer in a shed in Batesburg and arrested him for burglary and resisting arrest. 

“Of course, he didn’t have much to say about the whereabouts of the baby at that time,” Koon said. 

The next day, “freshly disturbed dirt” and pine straw were found by authorities searching near Comer’s house, about 50 yards into woodland. 

Once cops started to dig, they started to hear Koah cry.