MANTEO, N.C. — A Chesapeake teen is dead after being trapped under several feet of sand at Cape Hatteras National Seashore, National Park Service (NPS) officials said Saturday.
The teen, a 17-year-old male, died on Saturday, May 6 as a result of being trapped under several feet of sand at Cape Hatteras National Seashore (Seashore) in Frisco, North Carolina.
At approximately 2 p.m., Seashore law enforcement rangers responded to a 911 call regarding a teen trapped in a hole, approximately 0.10 mile east of off-road vehicle ramp 49 in Frisco.
The hole was dug in a back-dune area behind the primary dune and not visible from the beachfront, NPS officials said.
Prior to arriving on scene, family and friends went looking for the 17-year-old boy, and found him buried under several feet of sand, apparently caused by portions of the adjacent dune collapsing into the hole.
Rangers worked with family members to extract the teen while simultaneously performing CPR, according to NPS officials.
Dare County Emergency Medical Services personnel and Hatteras Island Ocean Rescue staff helped with getting the teen from the hole and administering CPR.
First responders were unable to revive the boy.
“Cape Hatteras National Seashore offers our condolences to his family and friends," said David Hallac, Superintendent, National Parks of Eastern North Carolina. "We urge visitors not to dig deep holes on the beach due to the danger they present to beachgoers and emergency response staff.”
NPS officials said the incident is under investigation.
