Comer was seen travelling to multiple locations without the baby and was later arrested in Lexington County without Sharpe. A search party of 100 police and fire department officials were then sent to search for the child, the sheriff said.
He added that when they asked Comer where his son was, he “did not have much to say” about his whereabouts.
Koon said that rescuers searched the woods near Comer’s father’s house and saw some “freshly disturbed dirt”. As they began to dig, they heard a baby crying – something the sheriff described as “the most joyful sound you ever heard”.
“The race was on. Everybody was getting down there trying to get him out,” Koon added.
He said the crate was wrapped in a towel that probably provided enough air for Sharpe to survive for as long as he did, while the cold weather kept him from getting too hot.
“The crate was, probably, I’m guessing about a two-foot [61cm] by two-foot dog crate. So, I think, once that crate hit the ground, he was probably up at least a foot from the top of that crate to the top of the ground,” Koon explained.
Of the parents relationship, the sheriff said there were “obviously some issues”. Comer had previously pleaded guilty to domestic violence charges, court records show.
Comer’s mother, Patricia Comer, told NBC News that Sharpe’s mother had full custody of him but allowed her to supervise while her son watched him. She said her son had watched the baby before unsupervised without any problems.
“Honestly, I’m his mother, and I never expected this from him,” Patricia Comer said.
