- Sloan Mattingly’s uncle, Chris Sloan, opened up about his 7-year-old niece who died after becoming trapped in a collapsed sand pit in Florida last week
- The girl grabbed her brother who was buried up to his chest in the sand on a beach in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea on Tuesday, according to the uncle
- The brothers and sisters were allegedly on a rare vacation with their family, who shared moments from the trip on social networks and via text messages.
The uncle of an Indiana girl who died after becoming trapped in a collapsed sand pit in Florida last week has described the harrowing efforts to rescue the seven-year-old victim.
Sloan Mattingly was in a hole with her brother Maddox, 9, near 4424 El Mar Drive in Lauderdale-by-the-Seau on Tuesday when sand collapsed around them, the Broward County Sheriff’s Office said earlier.
Police said the family was on vacation from Indiana when the tragic incident occurred.
Chris Sloan, the girl’s uncle from Oklahoma, told NBC affiliate KFOR-TV that the family shared their memories through social media and text messages while they were visiting. But one text message changed everything when members of a family group chat were “asked to dial a conference call number.”
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During the call, Sloan’s brother David delivered the devastating news of Sloan’s death.
The 7-year-old tried to “grab Maddox’s leg to pull himself out of the sand” after the hole caved in, his brother told Chris, according to KFOR-TV.
“Eventually he couldn’t feel her move anymore,” Sloan’s uncle said.
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Thomas Rassas, who filmed parts of the rescue on his cell phone, told WPTA that the girl was under the sand for more than 15 minutes before she was finally freed.
The uncle claimed the girl was “unresponsive” when she was finally pulled from the sand, KFOR-TV reports.
Sloan was transported to Broward Health Medical Center, where she later died, according to BCSO.
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Maddox was also hospitalized after the incident and is listed in stable condition, according to WPTA.
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Sloan was a student at Lafayette Meadows Elementary School in Roanoke, Indiana. In a letter to families, principal Jenny Fedele said the young girl is a “bright, sweet, loving 1st grader.”
Counseling is available after the tragedy, she added. Fedele did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
Sloan’s official cause of death has not been released. As of Monday afternoon, more than $146,000 had been raised through a GoFundMe campaign to support Sloan’s family following her sudden death.
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Source: HIS Education