An 11-month-old boy was found alive in South Carolina after he was believed to have been buried for about 24 hours, local police said.
The infant, Koah Sharpe, was found on Tuesday wrapped inside a dog crate that was in turn wrapped in a towel and buried just under the surface in the woods, according to the Lexington county sheriff’s department.
“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,” sheriff Jay Koon told a news conference.
Koon said the infant’s father, Michael Comer, 25, was arrested on Monday night on suspicion of burglary. The sheriff’s department is working with prosecutors to determine additional charges.
Koon said the towel wrapped around the crate had “by the grace of God, probably provided enough air for [Koah] to survive by our estimation the last 24 hours under that dirt”.
Koah went missing on Monday after he was left in his father’s care at his mother’s home while she ran an errand, Koon said.
The boy was later reported missing and authorities launched an expansive search, the sheriff said.
Koah was found after a search party discovered “freshly disturbed” dirt in the woods about 50 yards (45 metres) from Comer’s father’s house, Koon said.
“As they started digging you could hear little Koah crying. So as you can imagine the race was on, everybody was down there trying to get him out.”
Koah has been hospitalized and will “hopefully” recover, Koon said.
Koon said about 100 people had been searching for Koah.
“We want to thank everybody and celebrate the fact today that an 11-month-old baby is alive.”
