North Carolina coast officials warn about digging deep holes on beaches; latest OBX crater ‘extremely dangerous’

DUCK, N.C. (WNCN) — Officials at the North Carolina coast are reminding visitors not to dig and leave behind deep, wide holes in beach sand.

The Dare County town of Duck on the Outer Banks issued a warning Thursday — just ahead of the Independence Day week holiday — about beachgoers creating a dangerous hole.

Duck officials posted a photo of a hole in the beach sand — with a golf cart parked nearby for scale — that even withstood high tide earlier in the day.

“Digging in the sand can be fun, but failing to fill in holes before you leave is extremely dangerous,” Duck town officials said, along with warnings.

In addition to creating dangers for people, officials said sea turtles, particularly hatchlings, can become trapped or disoriented in large holes.

In 2023, at the Outer Banks in Frisco, after a hole was dug into the back areas of dunes, it collapsed onto Chase Conyers at Cape Hatteras National Seashore.

The 17-year-old boy from Virginia was buried under several feet of sand after the dune — not visible from the beachfront — apparently collapsed into the hole.

A 7-year-old girl, Sloan Mattingly, died last year on the beach at Lauderdale-by-the-Sea in Florida when a 4-to-5-foot-deep hole collapsed on her and her 9-year-old brother, who survived.

Nearly every year, ocean rescue groups, beach towns, or the National Seashores at the North Carolina coast post photos of reminders about the dangerous holes.

Last summer, Oak Island Water Rescue ran a drill in a mock rescue along the surf — with photos showing several men working at once, struggling to pull sand away as the tide rushed in.

A real photo from Oak Island, as part of the reminder, showed real children in actual deep holes while the surf came in.

“The last photo was recently taken on Oak Island, and could have resulted in tragedy,” Oak Island officials wrote.

One hole that was left behind in Nags Head nearly 10 years ago has become famous. It was so deep that a ladder could be placed inside.

“If you must dig a hole, make sure it only takes up a small area and is no deeper than the knees of the smallest person in the group,” Nags Head town officials wrote in August 2015. “And, please be sure to fill in your hole.”

Another hole at the Outer Banks has also been shared many times on social media. The massive hole photo at Kill Devil Hills was first posted nearly four years ago.

The iconic image from Kill Devil Hills Ocean Rescue shows a lifeguard working to fill in the crater.

“They are a collapse hazard when this deep and can result in serious injury or death,” the caption in August 2021 said.