STUART, FL– A 35-year-old man is dead after he was buried alive in the sand at the beach.
The incident occurred Monday morning just south of the House of Refuge on Hutchinson Island.
Authorities say a person walking on the beach in the early morning hours, noticed the victim’s feet sticking out of the sand and called for help.
Investigators believe the victim may have been resting under a sand dune and taking video of a sunrise. At some point, the sand dune collapsed and trapped him under it.
The man had been trapped for at least three hours before he was found.
The victim’s cause of death was ruled asphyxia as a result of being trapped underneath the sand.