FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (Gray News) — Police have identified the young girl who died when a deep hole she was digging at a south Florida beach buried her in sand.
According to NBC News, police said 7-year-old Sloan Mattingly was playing with her 9-year-old brother, Maddox Mattingly, at a beach in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea when the sand hole they had been digging collapsed. It was reported the children were on vacation with their parents.
Responding emergency crews found the boy buried up to his chest in the sand, Sandra King, a spokesperson for Pompano Beach Fire Rescue, told the Associated Press.
Sloan was reported to have been completely buried underneath the boy, King told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.
The hole was 5 or 6 feet (1.8 meters) deep when the collapse happened, according to several reports.
Support boards were used to keep more sand from collapsing as rescuers worked to get the children out, King reported.
It is unknown how long the children were buried in the sand before crews were called to rescue them.
Sloan was taken to Broward Health Medical Center in Fort Lauderdale, where she was pronounced dead, according to King. Maddox was also hospitalized and is reported to be in stable condition.
Further details, such as if an adult or guardian was supervising the children, have not been provided. NBC News said members at town hall reported the beach does not have lifeguards.
Lafayette Meadows Elementary School in Roanoke, Indiana, released a statement on Wednesday, confirming both Sloan and Maddox were students at the school.
“It is with a heavy heart that I write this letting you know we lost a precious member of the Lafayette Meadows school family,” the school’s principal, Jenny Fedele, said in the statement.
In the statement, Fedele calls Sloan a “bright, sweet, loving 1st grade student” and says the administration and counselors will be providing support for students and staff.
“Please keep the Mattingly family in your thoughts and prayers,” the statement said.
Copyright 2024 Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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