Maine Beach Swallows Woman Up to Waist With Unexpected Quicksand

First and most importantly, Jamie Acord is fine after a Popham Beach State Park walk.

The Portland Press Herald had a chance to catch up with Jamie and her husband Patrick after they spent a few hours walking Popham Beach and looking for sand dollars. They were heading back when the earth opened up, and Jamie dropped up to her waist in an instant.

They were walking near Morse Point with a lot of people still on the beach. Jamie told the Press Herald,

All of a sudden I was hip deep in a wet slurry of sand. I couldn’t feel the bottom and I couldn’t get a footing. He pulled me out like you’d pick up a toddler off the floor. I turned around and the hole was gone. I looked down and my shorts were covered with muddy sand. I was like, ‘What just happened?’

Her husband Patrick got her out. She was scared, but scientists say that you can't actually get completely swallowed by quicksand. It happens when there is a pocket of supersaturated sand or quicksand, according to the Maine Bureau of Parks and Lands.

Warnings will be posted at Popham Beach.

According to Maine Public, the Maine's Department of Agriculture, Conservation, and Forestry said it's the first time the state has heard about quicksand at Popham, but it is pretty common.

It happened at Popham Beach because of all the storms, which caused erosion along the Morse River. But a Facebook post got the attention of a lot of people.

This was from Jamie, who said that a small child could have been swallowed, but that isn't exactly true. Jamie sank because she is an adult and heavier than a child, but warnings will still go up.

Look for quicksand near riverbanks...

Because it's supersaturated sand, you can't have quicksand without water. Peter Slovinsky, a marine geologist with the Maine Geological Survey, told the Press Herald that these pockets of quicksand are common near riverbanks, river mouths, and wherever tides wash in.

What do I do if I sink in quicksand?

You need to stay calm, which is probably the first thing you won't do! Remember, you can't get swallowed whole in quicksand. It just feels that way. Lean forward or backward onto firmer sand, and wiggle your legs slightly as you pull them out. The scariest thing is that there isn't a hole (per se) that you fall into, and there is no evidence of a hole when you get out. Just another fascinating part of the Maine landscape that Jamie Acord learned about the hard way.