Missing 11-month-old baby found buried alive in a crate in South Carolina

An 11-month-old baby has been rescued in South Carolina after officials say he was buried alive in a crate by his father. Koah Sharpe had been missing since Monday when he was taken by his father, Michael Comer, 25, according to the Lexington County Sheriff's Department. Comer was arrested on a burglary charge on Monday evening but his son was not with him.

The baby was found on Tuesday "buried alive" and "clinging to life" not far from his father's house, Lexington County Sheriff Jay Koon said at a news conference. It is thought he had been there for 24 hours. Comer's mother was watching the child and had left her son alone with him briefly, Koon said, when he left abruptly with Koah.

Comer was seen travelling to multiple locations without the baby and was later arrested in Lexington County without Koah. A search party of 100 police and fire department officials were then sent to search for the child, the sheriff said. Koon said that rescuers searched the woods near Comer's house and saw some "freshly disturbed dirt".