The GoFundMe created for the seven-year-old girl who tragically died after being buried inside a hole on a Florida beach has amassed $100,000 in donations.
Tragedy struck on Tuesday (February 20) after Sloan Mattingly became trapped while digging a hole in the sand near 4424 El Mar Drive in Lauderdale-By-The-Sea, Florida.
The young girl, who was on vacation from Fort Wayne, Indiana, with her family, was digging a hole between 5- to 6-foot-deep alongside her nine-year-old brother Maddox when the sand collapsed.
Maddox was submerged up to his chest in the sand while the girl was fully buried which alarmed many bystanders who tried to dig out the children using their hands and plastic pails but the sand kept collapsing.
A heartwrenching 911 call released by NBC 6 South Florida revealed a frantic bystander saying the young girl's mom was desperately 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 child'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 Sloan out. She then noted that the sheriff had arrived.
As the operator tried to ask the woman questions about what was happening on the scene, she became devastatingly shaken by the cries of Sloan's mother, saying: "Oh, this mother… oh, this is awful."
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 hospital.
A GoFundMe has been set up by the family's friend, Sally Krouse, and as of the time of writing, $103,771 has been raised of the $150,000 target.
Krouse wrote in the description that the family "are having to navigate a road that no family ever wants to have to even think about navigating. What started as an amazing family trip quickly turned into the devastatingly tragic loss of their 7-year-old daughter/sister Sloan".
She said that while "no amount of money will bring beautiful Sloan back," donations will help cover funeral costs, and ease the family's financial stress.
The fundraiser also included a message from the young child's grief-stricken 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."
Ocean rescue experts have offered some words following the horrific incident and said that lifeguards could have prevented Sloan's death as they are required to tell beachgoers about the dangers of digging in the sand.
According to the Tampa Bay Times, they are instructed to stop people from digging any deeper than knee height, or about 2 feet. However, Pompano Beach spokesperson Sandra King revealed that Lauderdale-by-the-Sea has no lifeguards.
A man named Harry Defina witnessed the harrowing moments when the sand hole swallowed and killed the young girl. He told NBC Miami: "I see kids in the hole. I could see the boy a little bit... but all I could see was the top of the girl’s head. I saw the father was just beside himself."
Sloan's grieving 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."
Our thoughts continue to be with Sloan's family at this time.
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