Police say 7-year-old Sloan Mattingly and her brother died when they got stuck while digging a hole on a Florida beach.
Newly released audio shows the moments after two kids were sucked into a sand hole in Florida on Tuesday while they were digging.
The Broward County Sheriff’s Office says that when Sloan Mattingly, 7, and her brother Maddox, 9, dug a hole in the sand near 4424 El Mar Drive in Lauderdale-By-The-Sea, they got stuck.
The young girl was taken to Broward Health Medical Center, but she died there, according to the BCSO.
Someone who was nearby and called 911 said the incident took place on the beach in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, in front of the High Noon Beach Resort. The sound file, which was shared by NBC affiliate WTVJ, has a lot of screaming.
At the start of the call, someone said, “There’s a child that they’re trying to get out.” It was the father of the children who first caught her attention, “yelling for help because his child is stuck in a hole in the sand.”
While calling, the person said the mom started yelling, “My daughter’s in there!”
The caller also said, “Everyone is screaming.”
WTVJ also showed cellphone video from another bystander that showed a lot of people gathered around the hole.
The BCSO says that Sloan and Maddox were on vacation with their parents from Indiana when the fatal event happened.
WTVJ reports that Maddox was also taken to the hospital after being freed and was initially listed as being in critical condition. It’s not clear what his condition is now.
It’s also not clear how long the kids were buried. Fire Rescue spokesperson Sandra King told WTVJ that support boards were used to keep the hole, which was about 5 to 6 feet deep, from collapsing during the rescue.
Sally Krouse set up a GoFundMe page for Sloan’s family and said that Sloan’s mother, Therese, called what happened “a freak accident.”
“What began as an amazing family trip quickly turned into the devastatingly tragic loss,” Krouse wrote in the description of the online fundraiser. As of Thursday afternoon, more than $33,000 had been raised.
said Krouse, “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.”
