Buried Alive In Sand at the Beach
Did you know that children can fall into holes and get buried alive at the beach? I had never heard of this happening, but it does.
I’m a beach bum. Always have been. Always will be. I love Jimmy Buffett. Love my toes in the sand. Love the ocean. Over the years we’ve made more trips to the beach than I can count. We packed up our five children every summer and drove south for some fun in the sun. I always worried about water safety but it never occurred to me to worry about children being buried alive in the sand until I read about a woman whose little boy suddenly vanished into thin air.
This story scared the daylights out of me. Basically what happened to this family was that one minute they were at the beach having a family outing and the next one of their children was missing. They assumed he had gone into the water while they weren’t looking. For five very long minutes they searched frantically. People flocked to their aid but still they couldn’t find him. The young mother assumed the worst.
And then they found him….buried alive in the sand. Someone had dug a hole and he fell in, the sand collapsed around him and he was buried alive. Proving that there is more to beach safety than just water safety. This story has a happy ending but still, it terrified me and believe it or not this has happened to other children. It’s rare but it happens.
And it’s happened to other people. You can read an ABC news report on it here.
Please, please, please…read this woman’s story and make your children and grandchildren aware.
News Update….
It happened again! This time a 6 year old little boy was playing on a sand dune in Indiana and it collapsed around him. The boy was from Illinois and he was buried for 3 hours. Amazingly, he survived and it is believed he will be okay. You can read the full story here.
Please share this story or a link to it on your Facebook page, blog, email, etc. It might help save a life!
Thank you, Darlene!
Thank you, Brenda!
Always best to be aware of sand cave-ins at the beach. Thanks Teresa for raising awareness; no need to panic but, be alert 🙂
It is very frightening when you think about the dangers around us at all times. The best defense is knowledge. Thanks for sharing. I’ll be spreading the word too.
Thanks Melinda, for commenting. If you can share this post with as many people as you can. I want every family with children to know about this! Teresa
Oh my goodness! We live 10 minutes from the beach, so we’re there all the time. The kiddos love lying down and being buried in the sand up to their shoulders, but we recently had a relative get very upset when she saw a picture of one of the kids buried, saying that if the tide suddenly came in, it could wash over him and he’d be buried underneath. That was the first time the thought had even occurred to us. We are much more mindful now. Thanks so much for posting this!
I agree, Rosey! It’s terrifying. Thanks for commenting and if you can share this article and inform more moms and grandmothers I would appreciate it!
Oh my gosh, my heart sank when I read that, I cannot even imagine. The one and only time I ever lost my oldest child (20 some years ago) was at a public beach. I still remember how scared I was (he left under the bathroom door while we were in there and was gone in a flash).
I’m glad there was a happy ending (to this story and mine!). Excellent to share. Better to be alert than not. P.S. I love the beach too. 🙂