SEFFNER, Fla. — A sinkhole that has been a cause for concern since it developed and killed a man in 2013 reopened in a Seffner community.
Hillsborough County Fire Rescue crews, county engineers and code enforcement responded to a report of a void that reappeared Monday afternoon on a county conservation property on Faithway Drive. A neighbor said the sinkhole appeared at around 8 a.m.
County engineers measured the void at 19 feet long, 16 feet wide and 19 feet deep.
It's the same sinkhole that opened up beneath Jeffrey Bush as he slept a decade ago. His body was never recovered.
“My brother texted me and told me that it opened up again,” said Bush’s cousin, Jordan Wheeler, speaking with 10 Tampa Bay on Tuesday.
County officials told neighbors that they remain safe at their homes, but that doesn't stop some from thinking the worse could come. The 19-foot void has become an issue that worries neighbors.
"Nervous, upset, and won’t get no sleep tonight," Willie Holloway said on Monday. "I’m nervous as hell."
The sinkhole doesn't seem to be widening or unstable at this point, engineers said, so, it's likely just a matter of filling it in again.
For Wheeler and his family, each time the massive sinkhole on Fairway Drive re-opens, so do the wounds of painfully haunting images.
“It was making like a growling noise. It was still kind of settling,” Wheeler recalled. “Crazy moment. Definitely a crazy moment.”
County leaders say that efforts to contain the feature have worked throughout the years despite some movement.
"In 2013, the sinkhole was remediated using a method designed to minimize danger to surrounding areas by containing any future reopening to the original location and prevent expansion of the opening," the county said in a statement.
However, the sinkhole reopened in 2015 and was remediated again. And now, in 2023. The sinkhole is virtually identical in size and location to when it reopened the second time in 2015, Hillsborough Executive Manager Jon-Paul Lavandeira said.
The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office monitored the site overnight Monday to prevent access to the site from the public. A sinkhole remediation contractor was on the scene Tuesday to draft a remediation plan. Officials said they'll likely use the same method of refilling the sinkhole with gravel and water.
The county expects to receive the full engineering report late Tuesday and trucks are planning to get there Wednesday to begin the process of filling the sinkhole — yet again.
Speaking with the county engineers at the site, they say it's common for a sinkhole to reopen. When sinkholes are filled up, sometimes there will be a recurrence in the same area, they stated.