Police have identified the young girl and her older brother who fell into a sand hole and got trapped Tuesday at a beach in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea.
Sloan Mattingly was identified Wednesday as the 7-year-old girl who died, and 9-year-old Maddox Mattingly is her older brother who was critically injured.
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“Don't tell us you’re sorry for our loss – don’t do that to us," their mother wrote on Facebook. "We experienced the purest human being and we are forever changed by her. We love you beyond any stretch of the imagination. Our sweet Sloan. What we would give."
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The first deputies arrived about four minutes after the collapse, with paramedics and firefighters arriving moments later, according to 911 calls released by the Broward County Sheriff's Office on Wednesday.
Footage from Chopper 6 showed crowds of people standing around a massive sand hole that was roped off.
Detectives say the children and their parents were on vacation from Indiana -- and that the children were digging a hole in the sand when they became trapped.
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The two children were taken to the hospital in critical condition. BSO later confirmed that the girl died.
The circumstances of this incident remain under investigation, according to BSO.
A GoFundMe account has been set up to help the family bring Sloan home from Florida and pay for funeral expenses. To donate, click here.
Editor's note: BSO initially reported that the girl who died was 5 years old, but later corrected that she was 7 years old.
