The latest: Miraculous rescue in Lexington County woods saves buried infant
LEXINGTON, S.C. — November 11, 2026.
In what seasoned law enforcement officers described as an absolute miracle, an 11-month-old infant missing for more than 24 hours was discovered alive on Tuesday, entombed roughly a foot underground inside a plastic dog crate in rural South Carolina. Search teams following faint whimpers beneath damp soil dug the child out with their bare hands, rushing him to a hospital where he is recovering from exposure.
The victim, identified by authorities as 11-month-old Koah Sharpe, was recovered in a heavily wooded thicket near Batesburg-Leesville in western Lexington County. The baby had been wrapped in a towel and sealed inside the enclosed animal crate before being placed in a shallow pit and concealed with shovelfuls of dirt, leaves, and pine straw.
The child’s father, Michael Comer, is being held in the Lexington County Detention Center. Comer was initially taken into custody late Monday night on unrelated burglary charges, but when investigators discovered the infant was missing and Comer refused to disclose his whereabouts, a massive inter-agency manhunt and rescue operation was launched across the rural county.
Burglary bust leaves father in handcuffs and infant unaccounted for
The terrifying sequence of events began on Monday evening, November 9, when Lexington County deputies responded to reports of a residential burglary in progress near Batesburg-Leesville. Deputies tracked down Comer and placed him into custody without incident.
During the intake interview and subsequent family welfare check, deputies realized that 11-month-old Koah—who had been under Comer’s sole care—was nowhere to be found. Family members reported that Comer had been seen carrying the infant earlier in the day, but the child’s crib, clothing, and carrier were deserted.
Sheriff Jay Koon immediately ordered an emergency grid search, calling in K-9 tracking units, aerial drone surveillance, and regional search-and-rescue teams. When interrogators questioned Comer regarding the whereabouts of his son, he offered conflicting narratives and refused to pinpoint where the baby had been left, prompting investigators to treat the area surrounding his home as an active crime scene.
How search teams tracked disturbed earth and dug baby Koah out alive
As hours ticked by on Tuesday morning, searchers methodically combed the rugged, densely wooded terrain behind rural properties off the main roads. More than two dozen deputies formed an arm-to-arm sweep line, inspecting ravines, brush piles, and outbuildings.
The breakthrough came when an alert deputy noticed a small patch of freshly disturbed earth and overturned pine needles that looked inconsistent with the surrounding natural forest floor. As the search team paused their movement to inspect the clearing, they heard faint, muffled crying coming directly from beneath the ground.
Deputies immediately dropped to their knees, furiously clawing away loose soil and roots. Approximately 12 inches below the surface, their hands struck the hard plastic shell of a portable dog crate. Prying open the latch, deputies found baby Koah wrapped tightly in a soiled towel. Though cold, covered in dirt, and severely dehydrated, the infant was conscious and breathing.
“To hear that cry and pull that sweet baby out alive after 24 hours underground is something none of these deputies will ever forget,” an emotional Sheriff Jay Koon stated during a press briefing. “It is nothing short of God’s grace and the relentless dedication of our team that we found him before it was too late.”
Sheriff Jay Koon pledges comprehensive felony counts against suspect
Michael Comer remains jailed without bond at the Lexington County Detention Center in Lexington, South Carolina. While currently booked on the initial second-degree burglary offense, prosecutors and sheriff's investigators are preparing a sweeping indictment.
Sheriff Koon confirmed that investigators are working in direct coordination with the 11th Circuit Solicitor’s Office to finalize severe felony warrants, which are expected to include attempted murder, unlawful conduct toward a child, and kidnapping. Detectives are also examining whether the act was premeditated and whether any prior domestic incidents had been reported.
“Leaving a helpless 11-month-old infant buried alive inside an enclosed box in the ground is an act of unspeakable cruelty,” Sheriff Koon told reporters. “We will ensure this individual faces the full, unyielding weight of the criminal justice system.”
