{"id":3204,"date":"2026-07-13T11:05:11","date_gmt":"2026-07-13T11:05:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=3204"},"modified":"2026-07-13T11:05:11","modified_gmt":"2026-07-13T11:05:11","slug":"crater-found-on-nc-beach-was-a-dangerous-stunt-that-broke-the-law-nc-police-say","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=3204","title":{"rendered":"Crater found on NC beach was a dangerous stunt that broke the law, NC police say"},"content":{"rendered":"

Beachgoers took things too far when they used the cover of darkness to dig a \u201cmeteor strike<\/a>\u201d crater in the sand, according to police in eastern North Carolina.<\/p>\n

Read more Who will serve in U.S. Senate after Lindsey Graham\u2019s sudden death? What we know<\/a><\/p>\n

It happened in Sunset Beach, about a 180-mile drive south from Raleigh, and the stunt was both illegal and dangerous, Sunset Beach police<\/a> said in a July 11 Facebook post.<\/p>\n

A photo shared by police shows the hole was large enough to serve as a backyard pool.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou would think this photo was created by AI, but it\u2019s not!\u201d police wrote in the post.<\/p>\n

\u201cLarge holes like this may seem harmless fun, but they can create serious hazards. … In this case, the hole was so large that Sunset Beach Code Compliance personnel had to call Department of Public Works, who brought in a backhoe to safely fill it in.\u201d<\/p>\n

The hole was \u201cdug in the middle of the night\u201d and found the next morning by Code Compliance personnel, officials said. The culprits have not been identified.<\/p>\n

News of the discovery prompted community outrage on social media, with the Facebook post amassing more than 1,200 reactions and comments as of July 13.<\/p>\n

Read more Donald Trump Says He Talked to Lindsey Graham Hours Before His Death at 71<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cSomeone or some people did this to intentionally harm others. It was dug in the middle of the night. People walking at night or early morning could have fallen into this thing and been seriously hurt … Maybe the down needs to mount some cameras,\u201d Don Meincke<\/a> posted.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s the purpose to dig a whole this big in the middle of the night? I don\u2019t get it,\u201d Kristy Mcdowell<\/a> wrote.<\/p>\n

Digging in the sand is a cherished beach tradition, but a trend of tourists creating deeper holes has forced many coastal towns to adopt laws governing the practice.<\/p>\n

In Sunset Beach, an ordinance forbids metal shoves on the beach, and digging anything more than 18 inches deep or five feet wide, police say. And all beach holes must be filled in no later than 7 p.m., police say.<\/p>\n

The holes pose a danger because they are difficult to see in the dark and can work like traps for passersby and emergency vehicles, police note. \u201cThey can also become traps for sea turtles coming ashore to nest and lay their eggs,\u201d police said.<\/p>\n

Read more \u2018I don\u2019t like thick chicken\u2019: A New Yorker\u2019s review of Charlotte chicken tenders<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The discovery of a crater-sized hole at Sunset Beach, North Carolina, prompts warning from police that digging huge holes in the sand is illegal and dangerous.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3203,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3204","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-read-todays-edition"],"yoast_head":"\nCrater found on NC beach was a dangerous stunt that broke the law, NC police say - \u0421harlotte Relocation Guide<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=3204\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Crater found on NC beach was a dangerous stunt that broke the law, NC police say - 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