12-year-old Boy Scout dies after being buried in sand at camp event

Boy Scouts are mourning the death of a 12-year-old member who died after being buried in the sand at a camp in Michigan.

“This is a very difficult time for our Scouting family,” executive-CEO Don Shepard of the Michigan Crossroads Council, Boy Scouts of America, said in a statement.

“We are sad to confirm the death of one of our youth members following an accident at a Scouting event.”

Police identified the boy as Gage Wilson of Portage, Michigan.

South Haven police and emergency medical personnel responded to a 911 call at 4:14 p.m. Saturday regarding a child buried in the sand near the waters’ edge at a Scout camp just north of Van Buren State Park, police said in a statement.

Scout leaders were performing CPR on the boy when police arrived at the scene on the shore of Lake Michigan, authorities said, adding that he was taken to a hospital.

“The early resuscitation efforts were able to establish a pulse in the victim,” South Haven police said in a statement. “Efforts were then made through difficult terrain including dunes, trails, and water to transport the victim to a waiting ambulance.

“The victim was flown to a Kalamazoo area hospital where he later died as a result of injuries sustained.”

The boy's family has been notified and the incident is still under investigation, police said, though, “it appears to be a tragic accident.”

They did not say how it happened.

“We offer our deepest condolences to the victim and his family, and we will support them in any way that we can,” according to the Scout statement. “Please join us in keeping all those affected in your thoughts and prayers.”