Boy dies after being buried under sand dune at state park

KNAU News Talk - Arizona Public Radio | By Associated Press

Published May 17, 2022 at 12:48 PM MST

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This 2018 file photo shows Coral Pink Sand Dunes state park near Kanab, Utah. A teenager visiting southern Utah's State Park died on Sunday, May 15, 2022, after he was entrapped beneath a sand dune that had collapsed on him a day prior. Ian Spendlove, a 13 year old from the St. George suburbs, was pronounced dead on Sunday after not regaining brain activity lost in the incident, the Utah State Parks Department said Monday.

The Salt Lake Tribune via AP

A 13-year-old Utah boy has died a day after a sand dune he was digging in collapsed and buried him at a state park.

Officials say Ian Spendlove, of Santa Clara, had been digging a tunnel into the dune at southern Utah's Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park when it collapsed on him Saturday evening.

A family member alerted authorities, and park rangers arrived to dig the boy out from what they said was over 6 feet of sand.

Spendlove was taken to a St. George hospital and then to Primary Children’s Hospital in Salt Lake City.

The Utah Division of State Parks Department says he died there Sunday after not regaining brain activity.