Presenting Atlas Obscura: The Mysterious Sinkholes of Mount Baldy

November 8, 2024 Interlochen Public Radio

By Interlochen Public Radio

November 8, 2024

Points North is a biweekly podcast about the land, water and inhabitants of the Great Lakes.

This episode was shared here with permission from Interlochen Public Radio.

On July 12, 2013 the Woessner family was hiking in Indiana. They were climbing Mount Baldy, a giant sand dune on the edge of Lake Michigan.

From the top was this great view of the Chicago skyline. And as usual, lots of people were making the climb to the summit.

Suddenly there was a cry and when the Woessners turned around, their six-year-old boy, Nathan, was gone. Where he had been was now just a hole in the dune about a foot across.

“If you know anything about sand, there’s no way you can fall in a hole in sand,” said park ranger Cookie Ferguson. “So, that made everybody start thinking.”

The Woessners could hear Nathan’s voice drifting up from somewhere deep inside of the dune, but they couldn’t see him. The family clawed at the dune, but each time they dug down, the sand immediately filled back in. Finally, a huge team of rescuers arrived at the scene and for three harrowing hours, they dug and dug. They excavated over 400 tons of sand, until finally they found Nathan 12 feet under the surface.

This episode comes from The Atlas Obscura Podcast, a co-production of Atlas Obscura and Stitcher Studios. Listen wherever you find podcasts.

There was no sign of Nathan—just a round, 12-inch-diameter hole in the sand. (Photo Credit: Indiana Dunes National Park)

Credits for The Atlas Obscura Podcast:
Host: Dylan Thuras
Producer: Amanda McGowan
Production Team: Doug Baldinger, Chris Naka, Camille Stanley, Manolo Morales, Bo DeLaire, Gabby Gladney
Technical Director: Casey Holford
Mixing: Luz Fleming
Theme and Credit Music: Sam Tindall
Special Thanks: Johanna Mayer