FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — The grieving parents of a 7-year-old girl who was tragically killed when a sand hole on a Florida beach collapsed on top of her are speaking out.
They sat down exclusively with ABC News to talk about their daughter Sloan’s tragic death and to share an urgent warning about beach safety ahead of spring break.
“The kids were looking up, you know, finding seashells and playing in the sand,” Jason Mattingly recalled about that day at the beach.
Jason and his wife, Therese, say they were enjoying the perfect beach day with their two young children when the unthinkable happened
“When we go to the beach, we think of water safety. And this never, ever once crossed my mind,” Therese said. “And, of course, looking now — I’m like, oh, of course! And so that part is really frustrating.”
Last month, 7-year-old Sloan and her 9-year-old brother, Maddox, were digging in the sand at a Fort Lauderdale-area beach when things took a devastating turn. The sand hole suddenly caved in on them, and Sloan was completely buried beneath her brother.
“It’s kind of a blur and it’s probably, maybe in my mind protecting itself, but it just happened so fast,” Jason recalled. “In my mind, I had her in my hands but the weight of the sand was too much.
“It didn’t matter that we were literally right there. It was just a hole and [then] there’s nothing,” Therese described. “And then it just became chaos and horror.”
Several people frantically calling 911.
“The father started yelling for help [and] said his child is caught in a hole in the sand,” one called told dispatchers. “My husband’s up there and a bunch of men are digging on the beach.”
People were desperate to help.
“I only knew of one. It was a woman, Therese recalled. “I told her to call 911 and then it turned out she’s a nurse. Once Maddox got out of the sand and they were checking out the beach, she stayed with him because, like, I wanted to be digging. And so she sat with him the whole time. She was just so kind.”
The family says it took nearly 20 minutes to fully get the children out of the hole that was several feet deep, but say it felt like time stood still.
Sloan was rushed to a nearby hospital but, tragically, she did not survive.
“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. You witnessed pure horror,” Therese said when asked what she would say to those who jumped in to help. “And thank you to the first responders, the hospital — everyone.”
“Everyone tried their hardest and, unfortunately, it didn’t work out in our favor,” Jason added.
Danger of sand holes
Experts warn that sand holes, even relatively small ones, pose serious danger on the beach.
Take a group of kids ages 5 to 11 years old, all varying in height, the shortest being three foot seven inches and the tallest being four foot eleven inches. Experts say any hole dug should be no deeper than the knee of the shortest person digging it – which in this case would be about nine inches.
Therese said the area of beach they were on was just an open public beach with no lifeguard on duty.
“Yeah, that would be something we would like to see change if we can,” Jason said. “Again, we don’t place any blame on Lauderdale-By-The-Sea.”
In a statement to ABC News, the town of Lauderdale-By-The-Sea says they are developing a national safety campaign, saying, “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.”
Now, the Mattinglys are remembering their bright and vivacious daughter, who loved unicorns and Taylor Swift.
“Life is all about love, and kisses and hugs and songs,” Sloan said in a video before her young life was cut short.
When asked how they want to remember Sloan, her father said, “As a beam of light [and] joy.”
“She just lived life. She would come out in the morning and she would fist pump you right out of bed, come out and just should always be so happy,” he added.
“She wasn’t into like the big ‘take me to Disney,’” Therese said. “She was like, ‘Just come dance with me in the living room.’ And we did.”
As other families prepare to flock to beaches for the spring break season, the Mattingly’s message through their tragedy is heartbreakingly clear.
“If we can do anything to save another family from going through this, whether that’s signage, beach patrol and strangers. You know, if you see something that’s dangerous, take the courage and say something,” Jason said.
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