7-year-old girl who died after sand hole collapsed identified

Garrett Phillips
·1 min read
2
7-year-old girl who died after sand hole collapsed identified

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Officials in Broward County have identified the 7-year-old child who died after being trapped under sand on Lauderdale-by-the-Sea Beach on Tuesday.

Sloan Mattingly (Photo shared by father Jason Mattingly)
Sloan Mattingly (Photo shared by father Jason Mattingly)

The Broward Sheriff’s Office told WPLG that Sloan Mattingly and her brother, Maddox were digging a hole in the sand around 3:15 p.m. when it collapsed, burying them.

WANE reports Sloan and her family were vacationing from Fort Wayne, Indiana.

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A witness recorded cell phone video showing beachgoers frantically digging into the sand, attempting to rescue the children, NBC Miami reported.

First responders found the boy buried up to his chest in sand, and the girl underneath the boy, Sandra King, a spokesperson for Pompano Beach Fire Rescue told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.

King said the hole was around five or six feet deep.

Sloan died after being taken to Broward Health Medical Center, BSO told WPLG. Her brother survived the incident.

A pail rests next to caution tape on a beach in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, Fla., on Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2024. A young girl was buried in sand and died Tuesday when a deep hole she was digging with a little boy collapsed on them both at a south Florida beach, authorities said. (Mike Stocker/South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP)
A pail rests next to caution tape on a beach in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, Fla., on Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2024. A young girl was buried in sand and died Tuesday when a deep hole she was digging with a little boy collapsed on them both at a south Florida beach, authorities said. (Mike Stocker/South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP)
Investigators on the beach in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, Fla., take photos of the scene of a sand collapse on Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2024. A young girl was buried in sand and died Tuesday when a deep hole she was digging with a little boy collapsed on them both at a south Florida beach, authorities said. (Mike Stocker/South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP)
Investigators on the beach in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, Fla., take photos of the scene of a sand collapse on Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2024. A young girl was buried in sand and died Tuesday when a deep hole she was digging with a little boy collapsed on them both at a south Florida beach, authorities said. (Mike Stocker/South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP)

The investigation was ongoing as of Wednesday.

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