'It was supposed to be the forever home': 6 years after old mine caused sinkhole, homeowners remain in limbo
ABC News investigates cases of dangerous sinkholes caused by abandoned mines.
No one in Hideaway Hills saw it coming.
In their community of more than 150 homes, carved into South Dakota's beautiful and rugged Black Hills, homeowners were happy. Neighbors waved to each other, kids played in the street, and the local school bus driver parked her bright yellow rig right in her driveway. It was, many residents said, the American Dream.
ABC News Investigates uncovers some of the scars of America's mining past: dangerous sinkholes and abandoned mine shafts opening up across the country due to infrastructure that is eroding away. Watch the segment on ABC News Live PRIME Tuesday at 7 p.m. ET, on Hulu at 8 p.m. and on Nightline at 12:30 a.m. ET.
That dream came to a screeching halt six years ago, when a sinkhole tore open that revealed an old mine lurking under Hideaway Hills -- forcing more than a dozen families to flee.
Marshall Dalton lived in his dream home with his wife and two children, where the couple was in the process of renovating their basement.
"This was mine and my wife's happy place," Dalton, 60, said. "The boys had the upstairs, we had the downstairs."
Today, Dalton works two jobs -- one at a local deli, the other at a movie theater -- to cover the costs of a new home as he tried to make ends meet.
Dalton was one of 13 homeowners in Hideaway Hills forced to evacuate in April 2020 after a sinkhole nearly 30 feet wide opened without warning. Crews lowered into the void discovered a network of century-old mine shafts extending beneath the neighborhood.
The homeowners learned the ground below had once been a gypsum mine operated by the state of South Dakota before being sold to private developers in 1994, according to court documents.
"Nobody in this neighborhood knew about the mine shaft," Dalton said.
An investigation by ABC News found the homeowners in Hideaway Hills are far from alone. In some parts of the country, dangerous sinkholes are opening as aging, abandoned mine infrastructure erodes beneath communities, roads and public lands.
In the last two years, an abandoned mineshaft collapsed beneath a major highway in New Jersey, tearing open a sinkhole more than 40 feet wide. In Pennsylvania, a grandmother died after an abandoned coal mine gave way under her feet while she was searching for her lost cat. And in California, an old gold mine caved in under a family living room, killing a 32-year-old man and his dog.
'It was supposed to be the forever home'
In Hideaway Hills, six years after emergency crews knocked on doors and ordered families to pack up and leave, the original sinkhole remains unfilled. The owners of the 13 evacuated homes were never allowed to return.
"That was our home and it's just sitting there," Allison Ireland told ABC News. "We can't live in it and it was made for a family. And now it's empty."
Ireland and her husband Brian, who raised four children in their Hideaway Hills home, still make mortgage payments on the house despite not being able to live there.
"It was supposed to be the forever home," David Peck, whose family was also forced out by the sinkhole, said of his house. "It was where my kids were supposed to grow up, it's where the wife and I were supposed to be when the kids are gone."
"I'm living paycheck to paycheck," Peck said. "I shouldn't be at my age. I should be looking towards retirement. It's all gone. I'll be working till the day I fall over at the bench."
Some local homeowners who were not evacuated told ABC News they're still being impacted by crumbling driveways, troubled utilities and undrinkable water.
Tonya Junker, a local school bus driver, said she continues to live in the neighborhood because she cannot afford to leave.
"My husband's supposed to retire next year. It's like starting over. And who can afford that?" Junker said.
'Don't think I'm going to walk away'
Shortly after the sinkhole opened, Kristi Noem, who was governor of South Dakota at the time, held a call with the homeowners and assured them the state wouldn't forget about them.
"Don't think I'm going to walk away and forget about this situation at all," Noem said on the call, a recording of which was obtained by ABC News. Noem did not respond to a request for comment from ABC News.
But years later, the homeowners of Hideaway Hills say they feel abandoned by the state.
In May 2020, 150 homeowners filed a class-action lawsuit against the state, the site's developers, and the home builders. The lawsuit alleged that state officials and developers knew the subdivision was built over a former gypsum mine.
Multiple lawsuits against the state of South Dakota, the land's developers, and the realtors who represented the homebuilders were ultimately dismissed, with claims against the developers and realtors barred by the statute of limitations
In the lawsuit against the state, attorneys for South Dakota argued that the state's legal responsibility ended once it filled in the mine and sold the property in 1994, asserting it was protected by sovereign immunity.
A lower court ruled against the homeowners and an appeals court agreed with the state and ruled that it is immune from liability claims under the state constitution.
In July, the state's supreme court again ruled in favor of the state, saying the homeowners did not have a valid claim that the government took or damaged property without paying compensation.
In a statement to ABC News, a spokesperson for South Dakota Gov. Larry Rhoden said the outcome of the lawsuit is consistent with the law.
"The residents of Hideaway Hills have endured significant hardship and uncertainty due to their land settling, and the governor is mindful of the challenges they continue to face," the spokesperson said. "The court's decision resolves the legal issues presented in this case. While it is not the outcome the homeowners wanted, it is the outcome that the South Dakota Constitution dictates."
Katie Sirenana, who still lives with her young children just a few doors away from the sinkhole, told ABC News she doesn't sleep because of fear that her home will collapse.
"We were under the impression that our property was OK," Sirenana said. "I wish we would have never bought it, because now we're stuck."
Popular Reads
ABC News Live