Boy's Condition Upgraded After Sand Dune Fall

A 6-year-old boy buried for three hours under sand at the Indiana Dunes is slowly seeing his medical condition improve, doctors said Thursday.

“Nathan Woessner has been upgraded from critical and is now in serious condition," Dr. Rachel Wolfson said. "He has been extubated, is recovering from sedation and continues to respond to command."

Woessner fell into a sinkhole sometime after 4 p.m. July 12 at Mt. Baldy in Michigan City, Ind.

Woessner's grandfather, Pastor Don Reul, said the boy was walking to the top of the popular dune with his dad, an adult friend of the family and another boy when he fell.

"They immediately went back, and he was nowhere to be seen," Reul said. "The ground had swallowed him up."

Doctors said Monday they expect the boy to be released from the hospital within 10 to 14 days. His condition had been listed as critical before Thursday.

The Mount Baldy area at the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore will remain closed indefinitely following the accident.