Homes over abandoned mines ABC probes hidden risks

Apr 27, 2020

Jay O'Brien investigates Daisy Drive in Hideaway Hills, South Dakota, where a 30-foot sinkhole revealed century-old mine shafts and 13 families were forced from their homes. Homeowners say they did not know a mine lay beneath them. Marshall Dalton says the dream became a nightmare; ABC reports his insurance did not cover the loss and he still pays a mortgage six years later. ABC's national investigation finds abandoned mines with inaccessible public records and limited homeowner protection. Interior official Lanny Erdos says some mines are unknown until they fail and concern is justified. O'Brien contrasts some uncertain federal help for coal mines with little or none for other mines, including the South Dakota gypsum mine, and announces ABC's public map assembled from government records. Allison Ireland describes her empty family home. The closing reports homeowners suing South Dakota, the state's denial of continuing responsibility after filling parts and selling the land, and the state's victory in the legal battle. No new collapse or newly dated judgment is asserted.

A sinkhole on Daisy Drive in Hideaway Hills, South Dakota, exposes old gypsum-mine shafts beneath homes and forces 13 families out, according to ABC's retrospective investigation. It describes a 30-foot opening and century-old shafts extending toward still-occupied homes. Interviewed residents say they did not know a mine was present when they bought. Six years later, Marshall Dalton still pays a mortgage on his empty home after insurance did not cover the loss; Allison Ireland describes a home made for a family now empty. ABC says homeowners sued South Dakota, which denied continuing responsibility and prevailed after a long legal battle; the report does not date that judgment.