Tragedy struck at the Cape Hatteras National Seashore in North Carolina over the weekend when a 17-year-old boy died after being buried in several feet of sand, authorities shared.
The National Park Service shared in a statement that seashore law enforcement rangers were notified around 2 p.m. Saturday that a teenager had become trapped in a hole about a tenth of a mile east of an off-road vehicle ramp in Frisco.
Family and friends at the seashore with the teenager called 911 after he became stuck in a hole, not visible from the beachfront, that had been “dug in a back-dune area behind the primary dune.”
Officials did not share who dug the hole or why.
While inside the hole, the teen was buried by portions of an adjacent dune that began collapsing onto him, the statement said.
After arriving on the scene, rangers and officials worked with the boy’s family to pull him out. Once he was freed from the sand, they began lifesaving measures but were unsuccessful, the statement shared.
The 17-year-old was from Chesapeake, Virginia, but his name was not released.
“Cape Hatteras National Seashore offers our condolences to his family and friends,” David Hallac, superintendent of the National Parks of Eastern North Carolina, said in the statement. “We urge visitors not to dig deep holes on the beach due to the danger they present to beachgoers and emergency response staff.”
An investigation into the boy’s death remains ongoing at this time.
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