Man Sinks in Quicksand and Emerges With a Girlfriend

The quicksand depicted in films, when a daring adventurer is suddenly ensnared in a life-threatening vortex of sand, is largely a myth. But that didn’t make it any less scary when Mitchell O’Brien slowly began to sink.

Mr. O’Brien was on Van’s Beach on the northeastern shore of Lake Michigan with his friend Breanne Sika last weekend hunting for Leland bluestones, a byproduct of the iron ore furnaces that operated in the nearby fishing village that attract rock hunters.

Some dredging had been taking place on the beach, and Mr. O’Brien, 37, from Traverse City, Mich., said he had thought the sand felt unstable.

“‘That looks really dangerous,’” he recalled Ms. Sika saying. “I turned around and ended up walking right to the spot she said was dangerous.

“I got my one foot stuck because I was trying to get my electronics out of my pocket. I knew not to panic. I have to be a macho man. You can’t ask for help when you’re trying to impress the girl you’re with.”

Soon enough, Mr. O’Brien was waist-deep in the sand. He urged Ms. Sika to take photographs, “or no one will believe us.”