Nik Rajkovic / news@whmi.com

Michigan Department of Natural Resources reports a 9-year-old boy from Livingston County is home and doing well following an incident Friday in which collapsing sand at the Silver Lake State Park sand dunes, in Oceana County, temporarily buried the boy.

According to a release, the child, who was visiting the Silver Lake area with family, was digging a hole in the sand, located near the pedestrian access on the northeast side of the dunes, when sand collapsed and covered him in about 5 feet of sand for more than five minutes.

Emergency responders were notified by Mason-Oceana 911 at 9:28 p.m. Michigan Department of Natural Resources Conservation Officer Logan Turner and Silver Lake State Park Ranger Cody Anscombe were patrolling the public off-road vehicle area of the dunes and were the first emergency responders to arrive at the scene.

At 9:30 p.m., Turner and Anscombe met the group of bystanders who dug the child out of the sand and were carrying the child toward the DNR employees. Turner evaluated the child, who was not breathing and did not have a pulse. Turner immediately began performing CPR and, after 70-80 compressions, the child began breathing and moving his arms and regained color.

By 9:35 p.m., Turner and Anscombe confirmed the child was in stable condition and used their department-issued, side-by-side off-road vehicle to transport the child and his mother to an ambulance waiting in the parking lot near the exit of the Silver Lake State Park off-road vehicle area.

The child was transported to Trinity Health Muskegon Hospital, then transferred to Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital in Grand Rapids.

The DNR was notified Sunday that the child had been released from the hospital and was at home, doing well with family.

Turner has been a conservation officer since 2021 and patrols in Oceana County. Anscombe has been a ranger since 2017 and works at the Silver Lake State Park ORV area.
The DNR was assisted by Hart Area Fire Department, Life EMS and Oceana County Sheriff’s Office.

Scott Pratt, chief of Southern Field Operations for the DNR Parks and Recreation Division, said that while he understands the appeal of the dunes, it’s important for everyone to put safety first.

“We want visitors of all ages to enjoy Michigan’s magnificent natural resources, including the dunes, but with great care and awareness,” Pratt said.

“For your safety and the safety of others, remember that digging deep holes is not allowed. Collapsing sand can be extremely dangerous, even fatal. Please keep holes shallow, fill them in before leaving and never allow unsupervised digging.

"Help us keep our beaches and dunes safe so everyone can go home with great Michigan memories.”