The parents of Sloan Mattingly — the 7-year-old Indiana girl who died after becoming trapped in a collapsed sand pit on a Florida beach in February — are speaking publicly about their tragedy in hopes of saving other families from this hidden danger.
Therese Mattingly and Jason Mattingly sat down for an emotional interview with Good morning AmericaErielle Reshef that aired Thursday, where they remembered their bright and vivacious daughter “as a ray of light [and] joy.”
“She just lived,” Jason said of his little girl, who loved unicorns and Taylor Swift. “She would come out in the morning and punch right out of bed. She would always be so happy.”
Therese added, “She didn’t like the big, ‘Take me to Disney.’ She only said, ‘Come dance with me in the living room.’ That’s what we did.”
Family shares last moments of little girl swallowed by hole in sand: brother ‘couldn’t feel her move anymore’
Sloan Mattingly.
GoFundMe
Sloan was digging for clams in the sand with her brother Maddox, 9, during a family vacation in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea on Feb. 20 when a sinkhole opened up, swallowing both siblings alive. Therese and Jason were right there and jumped into action, digging to save their children as the grains of sand swallowed them.
Jason recalled, “It was kind of a blur and probably my mind was protecting itself, but it just happened so fast. In my mind, I was holding her in my arms, but the weight of the sand was too much.”
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Therese Mattingly and Jason Mattingly remember their daughter Sloan during an emotional interview on ‘Good Morning America’.
Good morning America/X
It didn’t matter that we were literally there, Therese said. “It was just a hole and then there was nothing. And then it just becomes chaos and horror.”
Others on the beach joined the rescue effort, called 9-1-1 and helped find the children in the several-foot-deep hole. Maddix was the first to be pulled out, while Sloan remained trapped for over 15 minutes before she was finally freed. She was unresponsive and transported to a local hospital, where she later died.
Both Therese and Jason said GMA they felt as if time stood still as they raced to find their children.
They shared their gratitude to first responders, hospital workers and those on the beach who provided support. Everyone did their best, but unfortunately, it didn’t work out in our favor, Jason said.
“I’m sorry, I’m very sorry,” Therese told those colleagues on the beach. – You witnessed our horror.
911 call details moments after siblings swallowed by sand pit: ‘My daughter’s in there’
But the Mattingly family hopes that by sharing Sloan’s story, it will help prevent other families from similar ordeals, especially as other families flock to the beaches during the spring break season.
“You go to the beach and you think about water safety, and that never crossed my mind,” Therese remarked. “And of course, looking back now, it’s like, ‘Of course.’ And that’s where it’s really frustrating.”
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Sloan Mattingly Memorial in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea.
Amy Beth Bennett/South Florida Sun Sentinel/Tribune News Service via Getty Images
Experts say that a hole dug in the sand should not be deeper than the knees of the shortest person digging it. But that message, or warnings about sinkholes, aren’t often posted on beaches — something Therese and Jason hope to change.
“And strangers, if you see something that’s dangerous, get up the courage to say something,” Jason said.
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The city of Lauderdale by the Sea is developing a national safety campaign, they said GMA. “We will share it with as many coastal communities as possible. To prevent another unimaginable tragedy,’ said Mayor Chris Vincent. “We also discuss how we police our beach, the local ordinance to ban digging on our beach, and the best way to honor Sloan.”
Good morning America airs weekdays on ABC beginning at 7 a.m. ET.
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