Photo:  AuTrain Beach in Michigan

From the Mining Journal - August 22, 2020

An 11-year-old boy died Friday after a sand dune embankment collapsed on him near a roadside beach on Lake Superior just west of AuTrain, according to a press release from the Michigan State Police Negaunee Post. 

Troopers from Negaunee post were dispatched around 12:40 p.m. Friday to the roadside beach area on Lake Superior just west of AuTrain for the report of a young juvenile who was “buried in sand and unresponsive,” police said in the release. 

Troopers provided lifesaving measures along with officers from the Department of Natural Resources, Alger County Sheriff’s Office and Alger County EMS. 

The boy was transported by Alger County EMS to Munising Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced deceased.

On-scene investigation revealed the boy “had been digging in a sand dune embankment near the beach when the sand collapsed on him,” police said in the release. 

The family had been visiting from out of the area, police said. 

Law enforcement and EMS were assisted on scene by the AuTrain Township Fire Department.