The distraught parents of a seven-year-old girl who tragically died after being buried inside a hole on a Florida beach have spoken out.
On February 20, a young girl named Sloan Mattingly became trapped while digging a sand hole between 5- to 6-foot-deep alongside her nine-year-old brother Maddox, near 4424 El Mar Drive in Lauderdale-By-The-Sea, Florida.
Without warning, the sand collapsed on the siblings, who were on vacation from Fort Wayne, Indiana, with their family. While the boy found himself submerged up to his chest, the weight of the sand completely buried Sloan.
Beachgoers frantically dug away at the sand using their hands and plastic pails to reach the trapped child, who was eventually pulled out after around 20 minutes.
A 911 call released by NBC 6 South Florida revealed a frantic bystander saying Sloan's mom was screaming to get her daughter out. "The mom’s yelling, 'My daughter is in there,'" she explained. "Everybody’s screaming," she continued as shouting from others could be heard in the background.
The caller stated that the girl's "whole body" was still under the sand and told the operator that she did not "see her head" as others desperately continued to get her out. She then noted that the sheriff had arrived.
The Independent reported that the first deputies arrived almost four minutes after the collapse and paramedics followed moments later. Rescue crews then took over from the beachgoers and used shovels to dig out the sand and boards to stabilize the hole.
However, when they got to the girl she had no pulse so the siblings were rushed to Broward Health Medical Center. Sadly, Sloan was pronounced dead while her brother was later released from the hospital.
Almost one month on from the tragedy, Sloan's bereaved parents are opening up about their heartbreaking loss during an interview with Good Morning America.
Watch their interview below:"It was kind of a blur, and it’s probably maybe my mind protecting myself, but it just happened so fast," dad Jason recalled. "In my mind, I had her in my hands, but the weight of the sand was too much."
Mom Therese also shared: "It didn’t matter that we were literally right there. It was just a hole and then it was nothing. And then it just becomes chaos and horror."
The parents said that they were known as being "overprotective" among friends and "have no idea how it happened," adding: "That's kind of the question we have too because we're the kind of people that other parents or family members would roll their eyes at because we're a little overprotective most of the time.
"I think of everything. When we go to the beach, we think of water safety. And this never, ever once crossed my mind. And of course, now, looking now, I think 'of course!' And so that part's really frustrating," she added.
The Mattingly family are hoping that by sharing Sloan's story, they will help save other families from similar heartbreaks, especially as the spring break season begins. Her dad urged: "Strangers, if you see something that’s dangerous, take the courage and say something."
The town of Lauderdale-By-The-Sea is now creating a national safety campaign, with Mayor Chris Vincent telling GMA: "As a father myself, I can’t fathom what they are going through. I want to thank them for staying in contact with us as we develop a national public safety campaign in Sloan’s memory.
"We will share it with as many coastal communities as possible to help prevent another unimaginable tragedy. We’re also discussing how we monitor our beach, a local Ordinance to ban digging on our beach, and the best way to honor Sloan," he added.
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