A mother whose 11-month-old son was found buried alive inside a dog crate says the boy’s father sent her a disturbing message mentioning a “dumpster baby” shortly before the child allegedly disappeared.
Dezarae Sharp’s son, Koah, was found “clinging to life” on Tuesday afternoon after apparently spending about 24 hours buried beneath a shallow layer of dirt in woodland in South Carolina, police said.
Sharp, 25, said her former partner, Michael Comer, contacted her before Koah vanished and appeared to hint at what was about to happen.
“Michael did text me 2 days ago, I skimmed the message and the bottom said something about a dumpster baby,” she wrote on Facebook Tuesday morning.
“I assumed he was talking about the baby I’m pregnant with but here we are.”
While Koah was still missing, Sharp urged people in the greater Lexington area to check “any type of dumpster,” adding that she had already searched her own trash can.
Comer, 25, was arrested late Monday in Lexington County after police found him hiding in an outbuilding. He was charged with burglary, but no charges had been filed in connection with Koah’s disappearance at the time.
Comer’s mother, Trish, had been caring for Koah on Monday morning before leaving him with her son. She has since denounced him as “pure evil.”
Dezarae Sharp, pictured with her son Koah, says the infant’s father sent her a disturbing message about a “dumpster baby” before he allegedly buried the boy alive
Michael Comer, pictured with Koah, was arrested late Monday in Lexington County on a burglary charge. No charges had been filed in connection with the infant’s disappearance
The suspect’s mother, Trish Comer, pictured with her grandchildren, has disowned her “pure evil” son. She said: “There is no excuse for what my son did and I hope that he pays”
Trish had posted frequently online after Koah went missing at about 11am on Monday.
Police located the child at approximately 1.30pm Tuesday, after he had apparently spent about 24 hours buried underground roughly 50 yards from his paternal grandfather’s home.
“How the baby was found is pure evil,” Trish wrote about six hours after officers rescued Koah.
“There is no excuse for what my son did and I hope that he pays for what he did.”
She also criticized social media users who had attacked her family, writing: “Now can we please just be thankful that he is alive and praise God for it because that’s the only person who can be thankful for what that poor baby went through.”
Trish said she felt guilty for trusting her son to care for his child.
Lexington County Sheriff Jay Koon said Comer had left Koah with his mother on Monday morning and that the grandmother regularly babysat the boy.
When Trish needed to run an errand, Koah remained in Comer’s care while another babysitter was expected to arrive. “By the time the caregiver got there, Michael was gone and Koah was gone with him,” Koon said.
Police said Sharp’s 11-month-old son was found “clinging to life” Tuesday afternoon after apparently spending about 24 hours buried beneath dirt in the South Carolina woods
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The search ended Tuesday when Koah Sharp, pictured with his father Michael Comer, was found crying inside a buried wire crate near Batesburg-Leesville, Sheriff Jay Koon said
Sharp has full custody of Koah but allowed Comer weekend visitation because “he’s been going to therapy and stopped drinking”
Police were called around midday, and after Koah was reported missing, law enforcement launched a search.
Investigators went to Comer’s father’s home, located nearby, and found both doors open. Baby supplies were inside, but there was no sign of either Comer or the infant, Koon said.
Comer was found later that evening hiding in an outbuilding at a home in Batesburg and was arrested. Koah was not with him.
Nearly 100 first responders joined the search, focusing on woodland near Koah’s paternal grandfather’s home.
On Tuesday afternoon, searchers spotted “freshly disturbed” soil and pine straw. Officers began digging and soon heard the infant crying.
“As they probed it, laid it out and started digging, you could hear little Koah crying,” Koon said. “So, as you imagine, the race was on, everybody’s getting down there trying to get him out.”
The child was pulled from a crate covered with a towel. Koon said the covering may have helped create an air pocket that allowed Koah to survive.
“By the grace of God, probably provided enough air for him to survive. Our estimation is about 24 hours under that dirt,” Koon said.
Koah was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment and will “hopefully make a full recovery,” the local sheriff said
Trish said she knew her son, pictured after his arrest, was a “problem” but “did not know that he was this bad”
Koah was taken to a nearby hospital, where he received treatment. The sheriff said he would “hopefully make a full recovery.”
Sharp has full custody of Koah but said she permitted Comer to see him on weekends because “he’s been going to therapy and stopped drinking.”
In a Facebook post, Sharp said Comer “is a harm to himself as far as I’ve heard, so possibly to others.”
Trish said she had known her son was “a problem” but had not realized “that he was this bad.”
“He loved that baby, he’d do anything for that baby. He took good care of that baby, if you could see him with that baby he was wonderful,” she wrote.
“I did not know that he would do something like this and I’m sorry that I did not see this beforehand.”
Our News Outlet has contacted Sharp and Trish for comment. Comer remains in jail and has not yet retained an attorney.
