According to a press release from the Oceana County Sheriff's Office, on Friday, July 4, at 9:29 p.m., deputies received a call for a child who was buried in the sand near the turnaround area of the Silver Lake Sand Dunes. The caller reported that the child had been buried for approximately three to five minutes and that there were about 30 people digging in the last location that the child was seen.
Multiple deputies who were staging in Silver Lake in preparation for the fireworks detail that was scheduled that evening responded to the scene.
The accident involved a 9-year-old male from Fenton, Michigan. Like many others, the child and his family were up in the sand dunes to watch the fireworks. The family had parked in the ORV parking lot and walked up the steps into the dunes to the pedestrian area.
Conservation Officer Logan Turner and Park Ranger Cody Anscombe overheard the radio call from the ORV area parking lot. They responded to the scene in their side-by-side UTV and located the caller. When Officer Turner arrived, the child had been removed from the sand and was blue in color with no pulse. Officer Turner and Ranger Anscombe began CPR when a physician also arrived on the scene. They did approximately 80 CPR compressions when the boy began to cough.
"When deputies arrived on the scene, DNR officers were attending to the needs of the child and making arrangements to meet Life EMS in the staging area," Undersheriff Ryan Schiller stated. "The great working relationships that we have with all of the agencies in our area (are) absolutely key!"
The patient was transported by Life EMS to Trinity Health – Muskegon for treatment.
A very similar incident occurred last year on June 9, 2024 with a 12-year-old Petoskey boy. That incident also had a positive outcome, but not without some serious complications and hurdles along the way.
"We are extremely thankful that this situation had a positive outcome. We encourage anyone who may take children to the sand dunes to talk with them about the dangers of digging in the dunes," Schiller added. "Digging in the dunes is inherently different than digging anywhere else. The sand is much more unstable and can quickly cave in around a person. This not only happens to children, but can easily happen to adults as well.
"The holiday weekend was extremely busy anywhere near the lakeshore, specifically the sand dunes. While we had large crowds all weekend enjoying the water and outdoor activities we only had two injury related accidents, and none were determined to be serious in nature. We are grateful for the work that Think Dunes, Silver Lake Recreation Association and MiDNR are doing to promote a safe experience for dune enthusiasts."
Responding to the scene were Michigan DNR – Law Enforcement Division, Parks & Recreation Division, Oceana County Sheriff’s Office, Hart Area Fire Department, Life EMS and Schiller said they were assisted by Mason-Oceana 911.
