A baby found alive after being buried for about 24 hours in South Carolina woods is now in hospital, police said on Tuesday — a discovery the sheriff described as nothing short of a miracle.
The infant, Koah Sharpe, was found wrapped in a towel inside a dog crate, shallowly buried in the woods, according to the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department. He had been missing since Monday, and by the time searchers reached him, officers believed he had been underground for roughly a full day.
“Certainly God is good. Just a few moments ago, we found little Koah, 11 months old, buried alive, clinging to life, crying — the most joyful sound you ever heard of a crying baby,” Lexington County Sheriff Jay Koon said at a news conference.
Koah is now in hospital, where doctors are caring for him. The sheriff said he will “hopefully” recover.
Baby found alive after being buried: how searchers found Koah
Koah went missing on Monday after being left in his father’s care at his mother’s home while she ran an errand, Sheriff Koon said. When the mother returned and the boy could not be found, he was reported missing and a widespread search began.
The search went on into Tuesday, when a search party noticed something that changed everything: a patch of freshly disturbed dirt in the woods, about 50 yards from the home of the boy’s grandfather — the father of Michael Comer.
Searchers dug there and found the dog crate. Inside it, wrapped in a towel, was Koah — alive, and crying.
The sheriff did not say exactly how long the child had been in the ground, saying only that officers believed it had been about 24 hours. The crate was shallowly buried, which investigators believe is one reason the baby survived — air could still reach him, and the towel offered some protection from the cold ground.
The father has been arrested — more charges under review
The boy’s father, Michael Comer, was arrested on Monday night on charges of burglary and resisting arrest, the sheriff said. The department is working with the solicitor’s office to determine what additional charges he will face in connection with the baby, Koon said.
Authorities have not said what led officers to arrest Comer on Monday night, or whether he told investigators anything about where the child was. The investigation is continuing, and officials have said more charges are under review.
For now, the focus is on the child. Hospital staff are assessing him after his ordeal, and the sheriff’s office has said it expects to give an update on his condition.
Why this story has gripped the country
Stories like this one spread for a simple reason: the outcome was the one nobody dared to hope for. A baby reported missing, a father arrested, a day passing with no sign of the child — and then a cry from beneath freshly turned earth.
The details are what make it hard to look away. A towel. A dog crate. Fifty yards from a family home. A search party that kept looking until a patch of disturbed dirt gave the boy away.
It is also a reminder of how thin the margin was. A few more hours, a deeper burial, a search party that turned back sooner — any of those could have changed the ending. Instead, searchers found him in time, and the baby found alive after being buried is now in a hospital bed, with a chance to recover.
The case also raises questions that investigators will have to answer in the days ahead: what happened between Monday, when Koah was left in his father’s care, and Tuesday, when he was found in the woods. Those answers will come from the sheriff’s department and the solicitor’s office as charges are decided.
For more on recent U.S. crime news, see our report on the Pennsylvania cold case serial killer named by DNA after nearly 50 years.
What happens next
Police say the investigation is still under way. The sheriff’s department is working with prosecutors on additional charges against Comer, and the baby remains in hospital.
The next update is expected to cover two things: Koah’s condition, and the charges his father will face. Until then, the sheriff’s words at the news conference are the ones that will stay with people: a baby buried alive, clinging to life — and crying, the most joyful sound anyone there had ever heard.
Source: Reuters reporting, November 11, 2026 — https://www.reuters.com/world/us/baby-boy-found-alive-us-after-believed-buried-24-hours-police-say-2026-11-11/