A missing baby boy was found 'clinging to life' after being buried alive inside a dog crate, as the agonizing 24-hour search resulted in the arrest of his father.

Koah Sharp was heard crying inside of the wire crate that was buried in the ground near his grandfather's home in South Carolina on Tuesday, according to local police.

'Certainly, God is good. Just a few moments ago we found little Koah Sharp. 11-months-old, buried alive, clinging to life,' Lexington County Sheriff Jay Koon said.

'He was crying, the most joyful sound you ever heard of a crying baby.'

The little boy – who was last seen around 11am on Monday – spent 24 hours under the ground just 50 yards from his paternal grandfather's home.

Koah had been in the care of his grandmother Trish Comer, which Koon said 'happens quite often.' Trish is the mother of the boy's 25-year-old father Michael.

When Trish needed to run an errand, the baby boy was left in Michael's care before another caregiver was set to arrive.

But 'by the time the caregiver got there, Michael was gone and Koah was gone with him,' Koon added.

Police were called at around midday on Monday, at which point they investigated the home of the boy's grandfather 'up the street.'

At the home, police found both doors open, baby belongings in the house but 'no sign of Michael or the baby.' The boy's father was 'not known to have a car,' and police believed he hitchhiked from 'place to place.'

The search ended on Tuesday as Koah Sharp, seen with his father Michael Comer, was found crying inside of the buried wire crate near Batesburg-Leesville, Sheriff Jay Koon said

The search effort involved around 100 emergency responders, as the 11-month-old is believed to have spent a horrifying 24 hours buried beneath the dirt before he was finally discovered

Search teams noticed 'freshly disturbed' dirt and pine straw on Tuesday afternoon, prompting digging before they finally heard the infant, seen with his mother Dezarae Sharp, crying

The enormous search effort involved around 100 emergency responders, as the 11-month-old is believed to have spent a horrifying 24 hours buried beneath the dirt before he was finally discovered.

Search teams eventually noticed 'freshly disturbed' dirt and pine straw on Tuesday afternoon, prompting law enforcement to begin digging before they finally 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 then pulled from inside the crate which had been covered in a towel, which Koon said may have created an air pocket helping him survive.

'By the Grace of God, probably provided enough air for him to survive, our estimation is about 24 hours, under that dirt,' Sheriff Koon said.

Investigators later discovered video of Comer in the Batesburg-Leeville area 'with no baby.'

Koon added that the department was 'hoping and praying' Comer had left the child with another caregiver, but 'as the day went on and nobody came forward, it was certainly more and more concerning.'

Late on Monday evening, Comer was found in an outbuilding at a house in Batesburg and was arrested on charges of burglary and resisting arrest.

Koah had been in the care of his grandmother, his 25-year-old father Comer's mother Trish Comer, which Koon said 'happens quite often'

When Trish needed to run an errand, the baby boy was left in the care of his father before another caregiver was set to arrive. 'By the time the caregiver got there, Michael was gone and Koah was gone with him,' Koon said

The boy's father was 'not known to have a car,' and police believed he hitchhiked from 'place to place'

'He didn't have much to say about the whereabouts of the baby at that time,' Koon added.

Koah's devastated mother, Dezarae Sharp, said Comer had been allowed to visit his son on weekends since 'he's been going to therapy and stopped drinking.'

'His dad decided though it was time to get jealous over other guys, so he pulled this on this weekends trip,' she said, adding that Comer 'is a harm to himself as far as I've heard, so possibly to others.'

Comer's mother, Trish, wrote on Facebook that she had left work early after she 'felt like something was wrong' and called the police after realizing her son had taken the child.

'I called [the police] as soon as I realized he took the baby,' she wrote. 'He had his dad pick him up and then he took off on foot with Koah from his dad's house.'

Trish posted numerous times desperately seeking help to find Koah, describing it was 'such a horrific time.'