Maine Teen Dies While Digging Hole at NJ Beach

A Maine teen died this week along the Jersey Shore after the hole he was digging with his sister collapsed. Police say 18-year-old Levy Caverley was at a beach in Toms River, NJ, on Tuesday afternoon, reportedly enjoying a day in the sun by carving out a 10-foot-deep hole in the sand with his 17-year-old sibling, per NBC Philadelphia. However, as the two were digging—the town mayor says they used Frisbees—the sand collapsed on top of them sometime around 4pm, per the Asbury Park Press. The incident occurred at Ocean Beach III, which is located in a private beach community on a barrier island.

Police and other first responders rushed to the scene, using buckets and boards to try to free the pair from the deep hole; NBC Philadelphia reports a backhoe was used as well. Q106.5 reports the rescue effort went on for hours. The emergency workers were able to save the sister, who hasn't been IDed, but Caverley wasn't pulled out until around 6:45pm, and by then it was too late. NBC News notes that holes and similar structures dug in sandy areas have proven deadly before due to collapses, as just transpired days earlier in Utah, when a 13-year-old boy there died under similar circumstances at a state park. (More New Jersey stories.)