First responders struggling to deal with tragic death of 18-year-old who got trapped in hole on beach in Toms River, N.J.
TOMS RIVER, N.J. -- More has been learned about Tuesday's tragedy at the Jersey Shore.
A brother and sister were digging a large hole on the beach when the sand collapsed, trapping them. The 17-year-old girl was rescued, but her 18-year-old brother could not be saved.
CBS2's Alice Gainer spoke with the victims' father and other officials on Wednesday.
Chopper 2 was over the rescue efforts along the stretch of beach in Toms River. Officials say Levi Caverly and his sister were digging a hole with Frisbees when they became buried in the sand.
"Police were in the hole frantically digging. There were civilians," Fire District 1 Commissioner Len Minkler said.
Minkler described what happened when he arrived.
"The girl victim was visible from about here up and there was no sign of the male victim," Minkler said. "The first problem was all the sand that they're digging out started to go back into the hole."
The teen girl was pulled out, but her brother died. His body was recovered hours later. She refused medical attention, Gainer reported.
"Obviously, she didn't want to leave because it was her brother," town council president Kevin Geoghegan said.
The family from Maine was in Toms River on vacation. Levi Caverly's father said in a text message, "Levi was himself. He was odd. He was quirky. He was not real concerned with what others thought. He knew Jesus Christ. He was involved in the worship team at church, and was the drummer in a teen/young adult worship band. He was a tech nut and loved to program."
Several crosses made out of seashells were placed at the scene of the tragedy. First responders have been having an incredibly difficult time after they desperately tried to rescue both teens.
"Spoke to the chief this morning. Some of his guys are having a tough day," said Brian Kubiel, Fire District I's chief administrator.
"Devastating. It didn't have the outcome we wanted," Geoghegan added.
Toms River Mayor Maurice Hill said the hole the teenagers dug may have been about 5 to 6 feet deep, but Levi Caverly was found about 10 feet below the sand, so there are several theories about what happened.
"One could've been a sinkhole. The other could've been they dug down to the depth where they hit wet sand, and that almost works like a quicksand. It can pull you under. And the other one is there's a thing called 'sugar sand,' which is a very a free-flowing sand that sometimes is almost like quicksand," Hill said.
But first responders Gainer spoke with said we may never know what exactly happened.
Dr. Bradley Maron, an associate professor at Harvard Medical School, has done research on sand collapses.
"In certain circumstances, the holes collapsed without a clear trigger. In other cases, we heard reports of others playing in and around the side and accidentally triggering the collapse," Maron said.
Mayor Hill said lifeguards only allow people to dig holes up to their knees. There were no lifeguards on duty on Tuesday. They are now urging others heading to the beach this season to be careful both in the water and the sand.
Once it became a recovery operation, the hole had to be shored up so that no one else became trapped or injured. Machinery was brought in to help dig.
The Ocean County Prosecutor's Office is investigating.
