The identity of the young girl who was fatally buried inside a hole on a Florida beach has been revealed.
On Tuesday (February 20), a seven-year-old girl named Sloan Mattingly and her family had been visiting Lauderdale-by-the-Sea in Fort Lauderdale on vacation from Fort Wayne, Indiana, when tragedy struck.
The young girl had been digging a 5- to 6-foot-deep hole, but without warning, the sand collapsed, enveloping her and her nine-year-old brother Maddox Mattingly. While the boy found himself trapped up to his chest, the weight of the sand completely buried Sloan.
Beachgoers and emergency responders frantically dug away at the sand in a bid to reach the trapped child, who was eventually pulled out after around 20 minutes. Sadly, she succumbed to her injuries and was pronounced dead on arrival at Broward Health Medical Center.
Heart-wrenching audio released by NBC 6 South Florida revealed a desperate beachgoer calling 911 moments after Sloan was fatally buried inside a hole. "I’m on the beach in front of High Noon, and there’s a child that they’re trying to get out," the woman caller tells the operator.
The caller explains that a "bunch of people [were] trying to dig" before telling the operator that she heard the girl's father "yelling for help" and that his daughter was "caught in a hole in the sand".
The woman says that the girl's panic-stricken mother is desperately screaming to get her daughter out. "The mom’s yelling, 'My daughter is in there,'" she explained. "Everybody’s screaming," she continues as shouting from others can be heard in the background.
Listen to the heartbreaking 911 call below:The 911 operator tells the beachgoer that emergency responders have been dispatched to the scene before the woman discloses that those helping still "have not gotten the child out" and that they’re still "digging" the hole.
The caller states that the child's "whole body" is still under the sand and tells the operator that she does not "see her head" as others frantically continue to get Sloan out. She then notes that the sheriff had arrived.
As the operator continues to try and ask the woman questions about what's happening on the scene, she becomes devastatingly stunned by the cries of Sloan's mother, saying: "Oh, this mother… oh, this is awful."
The dispatcher then asks once more if the "officer is with the child," only to be met by a heartbreaking scream in the background. The woman then replies, "Yes," as the call concludes.
A GoFundMe set up by the family's friend, Sally Krouse, states that "an amazing family trip quickly turned into the devastatingly tragic loss of their 7-year-old daughter/sister Sloan".
"We know that no amount of money will bring beautiful Sloan back, but your donation can help bring Sloan home from Florida, cover funeral costs, and ease the financial stress as they learn to navigate their new world," Krouse added.
The donation page also included a message from the young child's mother, Therese: "A freak accident happened yesterday while we are here on vacation and it took away our greatest 7.5 years. Don’t tell us you’re sorry for our loss…don’t do that to us."
"We experienced the purest human being and we are forever changed by her," she continued. "We love you beyond any stretch of the imagination. Our sweet Sloan. What we would give."
The young girl's grief-stricken father Jason also shared a brief note to his business's Facebook page following the tragedy, writing: "Please be patient as we are dealing with the loss of our daughter." He also told WANE 15 that his daughter was "always smiling" and "full of love and life".
According to The New York Post, rescuers used support boards to keep sand from slipping back into the hole as they dug. "It was an unfathomable accident," Pompano Beach Fire Rescue spokeswoman Sandra King shared following the girl's tragic death.
The incident remains under investigation.
Our thoughts continue to be with Sloan's family and friends at this time.
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