The family of a seven-year-old who died when the hole she was digging with her brother at a Florida beach collapsed on top of them has been remembered as an “always happy” girl.
Indiana girl Sloan Mattingly was playing in a hole on a beach in Lauderdale-By-The-Sea with her nine-year-old brother Maddox on February 20 when they became buried by sand.
Both children were taken to hospital, where Sloan later died.
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Sloan’s family has spoken publicly for the first time, remembering the seven-year-old as a cheerful girl.
“She was always happy,” Sloan’s uncle, Chris Sloan, said.
“She was really fun to be around.
“She had a lot of energy and just totally innocent, and that’s what hurts the most in all this.”
Sloan and Maddox were on holiday with their parents; Chris Sloan’s sister, Therese; and her husband, Jason.
Sloan is her mother’s family’s namesake. They call her Sloanie.
“They were having a good time,” Chris said.
“They were staying at an Airbnb. Everybody was really excited to actually see them out there.”
Sloan’s father owns a drywall and painting business that often prevents the family from travelling.
“They don’t really go on vacation much, but they went to Fort Lauderdale to the beach,” Chris said.
“They’d been posting pictures the last couple of days they’ve been out there on social media.”
Along with social media posts, the entire family was keeping up with this rare family outing by group text.
Sloan’s mother has seven siblings, who are spread out all over the country.
Sloan and Maddox would often use the group chat to send family members happy birthday videos.
The brother and sister were inseparable — always together.
“Those are good memories,” Chris said.
‘Worst news of your life’
Chris, who lives in Oklahoma, said he got a text message to join a conference call.
“Once we all got on the line, my brother, David, said, ‘OK. What I have to tell you is going to be the worst news of your entire life.’ And it was.
“He said that she had passed away, that Sloanie had passed away.
“Later we found out that after the sand had caved, she kept trying to grab up Maddox’s leg to get up out of the sand, and eventually he couldn’t feel her moving anymore.
“The sand had been up to his chest, and he was screaming for help, and a lot of people did come and help.
“There’s actually some video of that.”
They were able to free Maddox, but it was too late for Sloan.
“She was non-responsive at the scene is what we know,” Chris said.
Multiple agencies responded to calls for help about 3.16pm local time on Tuesday.
Mobile phone video obtained by NBC South Florida showed several people using their hands to try to rescue the children.
Rescuers then used support boards to prevent the sand from collapsing further and shovels to dig the siblings out from the 1.5m-deep hole, Pompano Beach Fire Rescue spokesperson Sandra King said.
It’s not clear how long the children were buried before they were rescued.
The family wants everyone to know the dangers of sand and how quickly and easily it can give way.
“Even if it saves one life just to know about this story,” Chris said.
“This is real. It’s tragic. It’s happened.
“We’re working through it, and hopefully nothing like this ever happens to anyone else ever again.”
There is a GoFundMe page to help the family with expenses.
