WLTX says Sheriff Jay Koon said an 11-month-old was found crying under about a foot of dirt near the grandfather's home. The State says Michael Comer, 25, was booked on burglary and resisting arrest.

Burglary and resisting arrest, on The State and on WLTX, and a burglary charge, on WIS and in The Post and Courier's account of the sheriff's release, are not the same booking. The sheriff told those pages he is still working with the solicitor on what else may be charged. That next charge is not a filing those pages say has been made.

WLTX, by Tony Santaella, published 9:36 a.m. EST November 10, 2026, and updated 3:43 p.m. EST, reported that an 11-month-old boy who had been missing since Monday was found alive Tuesday afternoon after apparently spending nearly 24 hours buried underground in a wooded area of Lexington County, according to Sheriff Jay Koon. It reported he was discovered inside what Koon described as a small dog crate wrapped in a towel and buried beneath dirt near Parthenon Road, that he was crying when rescuers reached him, and that he was immediately taken to a hospital. It quoted Koon at a Tuesday afternoon news conference, "Eleven months old, buried alive, clinging to life, crying," and reported that he described the cries as "the most joyful sound you ever heard of a crying baby." It reported the child was screaming when rescuers pulled him from the ground, that the sheriff hoped he would make a full recovery, and that Koon did not provide details about his medical condition or whether he suffered any injuries. The State, by Javon L. Harris, updated November 10, 2026, at 5:01 p.m., with no zone printed on that clock, and originally published at 4:23 p.m., reported that an 11-month-old boy who disappeared Monday was found alive Tuesday, buried beneath freshly disturbed earth in a wooded area near Batesburg-Leesville. It reported searchers heard the child crying as they dug, about 50 yards from the home of the father's own father, and that emergency medical services took him to a hospital. It reported Koon said he was clinging to life and hoped he would make a full recovery. The State's headline says he was found buried alive in a dog crate. The body paragraphs on that page do not describe the crate. Dog crate, in the headline, and freshly disturbed earth, in the body, are both on that page. WIS, by WIS News 10 Staff, published Nov. 10, 2026, at 9:40 a.m. EST, on a page whose update line read "1 hour ago" and did not print an absolute clock, reported in the lede that authorities found an 11-month-old safe nearly a full day after he was reported missing. Safe, in that lede, and clinging to life, on WLTX and on The State, are not the same condition. The Post and Courier, by Jordan Lawrence, Nov. 10, 2026, on a page whose update line did not print an absolute clock, used a page title that he was found buried alive and a headline that deputies found the missing infant clinging to air hours after the father's arrest. Clinging to air, in that headline, and clinging to life, on The State, are not the same phrase. It reported he was later found buried alive in what Sheriff Jay Koon described as a dog crate wrapped with a towel and was saved.

WLTX reported that, according to Koon, the infant had been in the care of his paternal grandmother on Monday, that when she left to run an errand she temporarily left the child with his father, Michael Comer, while another caregiver was on the way, and that by the time that caregiver arrived both Comer and the baby were gone. It reported deputies were notified around lunchtime Monday. WIS reported the sheriff said Comer's mother was caring for the child when Comer arrived at the home on Monday, and that she then left the infant in Comer's care while another caregiver was on the way. It quoted the sheriff that by the time the caregiver got there, Michael was gone and the infant was gone with him. The quotation on that page names the child. The name is not repeated here. Comer's mother, on WIS, and his paternal grandmother, on WLTX, are not the same phrase. The Post and Courier reported the sheriff said the infant was in the care of his mother on Nov. 9, and it quoted him that Michael came over, that she had to run an errand, that another caregiver was coming, and that she left the infant in Michael's care. His mother, in that sentence about the infant, is not the paternal-grandmother phrase and it is not Comer's mother. The Post and Courier reported the department was called around lunchtime on Nov. 9. Lunchtime, on WLTX and on The Post and Courier, and a missing-persons report Monday afternoon, on WIS, are not the same notice. WIS reported that other members of the infant's family filed that report. The State reported that authorities said Comer took the infant while the infant was in his care Monday, and that by the time another caregiver arrived, both were gone. It does not name a grandmother or a mother. The State reported Michael Comer, 25, was arrested late Monday after deputies found him in an outbuilding at a home off Columbia Avenue in Batesburg-Leesville, that he was initially booked on burglary and resisting arrest charges, and that he did not provide information about the child's whereabouts. Age 25 is The State and WIS. WLTX and The Post and Courier do not print an age. WLTX reported he was located Monday night in an outbuilding at a home off Columbia Avenue in Batesburg, where he was arrested on burglary and resisting arrest charges, that the infant was not with him, and that Koon said he provided little information. Batesburg-Leesville, on The State, and Batesburg, on WLTX, are not the same place name on that arrest sentence. WIS reported authorities arrested him Monday night on a burglary charge after finding him in a shed on Columbia Avenue in Batesburg. A shed, on WIS, and an outbuilding, on WLTX, The State, and The Post and Courier, are not the same word. A burglary charge, on WIS, and burglary and resisting arrest, on WLTX and The State, are not the same booking. The Post and Courier, citing a release, reported deputies found and arrested Comer on a burglary charge late the night of Nov. 9. It reported Koon said deputies caught up with him hiding in an outbuilding at a house off Columbia Avenue in Batesburg, and that he did not have much to say about the baby's whereabouts. Hiding, on The Post and Courier, is not in the WLTX or The State arrest sentences.

WLTX reported nearly 100 law enforcement officers and public safety personnel, an area of freshly disturbed earth about 50 yards into the woods near the home of the child's grandfather, crime scene investigators with the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division and the FBI, a wire crate approximately two feet by two feet wrapped in a towel, and about a foot of dirt above the crate. It reported the sheriff believes the towel may have created an air pocket, that temperatures were estimated to be around 40 degrees, and that investigators estimate the infant may have been buried for approximately 24 hours, although the exact timeline remains under investigation. It quoted Koon that as they probed the ground and started digging they could hear the infant crying, and, "So as you imagine, the race was on. Everybody's getting down there trying to get him out." The crying sentence on that page names the child. The name is not repeated here. The State reported nearly 100 officers and public safety personnel, including local agencies, the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, the FBI, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The bureau is The State. It is not in the WLTX account of who dug. The State does not print a foot of dirt, a crate measurement, or 40 degrees. The Post and Courier reported the release named the county fire service, the State Law Enforcement Division, the FBI, and that bureau, and that the department said at about 9 a.m. Nov. 10 to expect a heavy law enforcement presence around Parthenon Road. It reported a search party of about 100, a site about 50 yards in the woods not far from Comer's father's house, pine straw and freshly disturbed earth, and that Koon said they believe the baby was buried about a foot under the surface for about 24 hours and that the cold weather overnight likely helped slow the baby's breathing. Cold weather slowing the breathing, on The Post and Courier, and a towel air pocket with temperatures around 40 degrees, on WLTX, are not the same explanation. It quoted, "So as you imagine, race was on." Race was on, without the word the, on The Post and Courier, and the race was on, on WLTX, are not the same sentence. It reported the department said the infant was found at about 1:45 p.m. in the 300 block of Parthenon Road, and that Koon, at a press conference at about 3 p.m., said the infant had been found "just a few moments ago." About 1:45 p.m., and a few moments before a 3 p.m. conference, are both on that page. They are not the same clock. WLTX, The State, and WIS do not print 1:45 p.m. or the 300 block. WIS does not print 50 yards. It reported pine straw and "freshly disturbed dirt" near Comer's father's house. It quoted Koon, "By the grace of God, [it] probably provided enough air for him to survive ur estimation of the last 24 hours under that dirt," with the square brackets and the letters ur printed on that page. It quoted him that it was buried and wrapped with a towel, so it probably created an air pocket, and, "It was a, I call it a dog crate. It's not, it's not a, it's got slat...wire slats. So it's open and he took a towel and wrapped it." The ellipsis in slat...wire slats is the station's. Two feet by two feet is WLTX. It is not in that WIS quotation. WLTX reported investigators are working with the solicitor's office on what additional charges Comer could face. The State reported they were working with prosecutors, and that the investigation was in its early stages. The Post and Courier quoted Koon, "A lot more work to do on our part as far as charges, we're working with the solicitor's office to find exactly what he'll be charged with moving forward," and, "Today, this press conference this afternoon is just by thanking the good Lord that the baby is still with us, like I said, clinging to life." WLTX quoted, "This press conference this afternoon is just about thanking the good Lord that the baby is still with us." Just by, and just about, are not the same words. WIS does not print the additional-charges sentence. It reported he remains in custody as of Tuesday afternoon and that the infant is being treated at a hospital. WLTX reported an Amber Alert was not issued because investigators did not have a vehicle description or a license plate, because Comer was believed to be getting rides. WIS quoted, "To be able to issue an Amber Alert, you have to have a known description of a car and a license plate to put that out," and reported it is believed he asked for rides, and that video showed him in the Batesburg-Leesville area with no baby. The Post and Courier quoted him that he was "just basically bumming rides, calling rides," and that video early that morning showed him in and around Batesburg-Leesville with no baby. Bumming rides, asked for rides, and getting rides are not the same verb. The State reported that because he did not have a vehicle, and investigators lacked a description and a plate, they did not have what an Amber Alert required, and that video later showed him in the Batesburg-Leesville area without the child. WIS reported the arrest comes just over a month after he was placed on probation following a guilty plea for aggravated breach of peace, according to public court and state records, and that those records also show previous arrests earlier this year for domestic violence and a weapons-related charge. The guilty plea is what WIS reports. The earlier arrests are arrests on that page. The Post and Courier reported the sheriff said they are not exactly sure of his motives in allegedly taking and burying his son, and that Koon mentioned law enforcement had been called to domestic violence incidents regarding Comer in the past. Allegedly taking and burying is The Post and Courier's wording. Called to domestic violence incidents, on that page, and previous arrests for domestic violence, on WIS, are not the same record. WLTX and The State do not print the probation plea or those arrests. The burial is the sheriff's account on these pages. It is not a charge the booking lines print. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.