Buried Alive: Sand holes become treacherous grave for beach go-ers this summer Sherei Lopez Jackson Jul 16, 2013 11:43 AM EDT

A little known phenomenon, in which young children become trapped underneath a foot of sand on beaches, has been increasing this year. In Michigan City, Indianapolis, a 6-year-old boy was buried underneath 11 feet of sand after being swallowed by a dune with the changing tide. He is in critical condition at Comer Children's Hospital in Chicago, but is recovering.

Another case was reported in Santa Monica Beach in which the child was lost and buried for 5 minutes under 10 inches of sand.

"A young woman who had been helping with the search suddenly noticed a sort of indentation in the ledge of soft sand, just a few feet from our chairs. She asked if it had been there when we arrived. I didn't know. She stuck her hands in and began to dig a bit - and felt his head. She, my husband, and several others started digging and were able to pull him out - alive, and totally okay. Totally okay. I had not been able to watch them dig him up, because I was so afraid he was dead - it had been five minutes or more!" said the young boy's mother, Earthchick blogger.

In both cases, the child seemed to disappear out of thin air, while parents were pre-occupied with a momentary task. Given the unpredictable nature of tides and shifting sand, law enforcement officers are encouraging parents to always check their area for sand holes before setting up, never allow children to dig holes deeper than knee-high, and always fill in holes before you leave.

"At the time, we thought it was a "freak accident," and the hospital personnel certainly treated it as such (after ruling out foul play)... I discovered that just two weeks before Rob's accident, a physician in Boston had a letter published in the New England Journal of Medicine about just this thing, sand hole collapses. I was shocked by his findings...in 60% of these kind of accidents, the victim dies - I imagine that number is even higher if the accident is not witnessed (as was the case for us)." Earthchick said.

Considering the increase of incidences, watch your little ones closely this summer at the beach. You can read the rest of Earthchick's experience here.