“Oh, this mom” was the terrifying 911 call from the beach after a 7-year-old daughter was found buried alive in Florida.
The tragic audio of a beachgoer calling 911 immediately after 7-year-old Sloan Mattingly’s body was discovered buried in a hole on a Florida beach has gone public. You hear the girl’s terrified mother begging her daughter to come out.
“I’m at the beach before noon and there’s a kid trying to get out,” the woman who dials 911 tells the operator. NBC 6 South Florida broke the news Wednesday.
The caller begins by stating, “A bunch of people were trying to dig.” The caller then claims he heard the girl’s father “shouting for help” and discovered his daughter was “trapped in a hole in the sand.”
“The mother is shouting, ‘My daughter is there!'” she exclaimed.
“Everybody’s screaming,” the woman reports, adding that she can hear other people crying in agony as they try to save the youngster during the 911 call.
The mother is informed by the operator that emergency personnel has been dispatched to the beach; however, an individual on the shore informs her that the rescuers “didn’t get the baby out” and are now “kicking”.
Which part of the child’s body is stuck? The caller tells 911 that the girl’s “entire body” is still under the sand when they ask.
He replies, “He can’t see her head,” when asked by the operator if “the baby’s head is above the sand,” as Sloan is still being quickly dug out.
The caller then reported that the sheriff had arrived and that first responders were now waiting for the fire department to arrive.
As she says, “They need help.” “Yes, they do.
The woman’s attention is completely absorbed by the crying of the girl’s mother as the operator again tries to ask her what is happening at the crime scene.
“Oh, that mom…” “That’s terrible,” she exclaims.
Intermittent shouting is heard in the background as the dispatcher asks if “the officer is with the child”. “Yes,” the woman replies gravely, and the connection ends.
Sloan was pronounced dead about twenty minutes after being buried in the sand.
The tragic events occurred at Lauderdale-by-the-Sea in Fort Lauderdale early Tuesday afternoon.
The girl was on vacation with her family from Fort Wayne, Indiana.
As she and her brother Maddox Mattingly, aged nine, were digging a hole, the sand collapsed on them.
The girl was completely buried as the sand filled the pit, which was five to six feet deep. He was buried chest to chest with her brother.
Maddox was rescued by his father Jason Mattingly and managed to survive.
By the time the two children arrived at Broward Health Medical Center in Fort Lauderdale, Sloan had already died.
Disturbing cellphone video showed beachgoers and rescue workers working to free the girl with their hands and whatever else they could find.
Rescuers were able to dig without allowing the sand to slide back into the hole thanks to support plates.
After the girl died, Pompano Beach Fire Rescue spokeswoman Sandra King said, “It was an unbelievable accident.”
The heartbreaking incident in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea on Tuesday afternoon left a deep impact on all involved. Tragically, seven-year-old Sloan Mattingly, who was on vacation with her family, was buried alive in the sandpit she and her brother were digging. Despite the desperate efforts of rescuers and bystanders, the sand collapsed completely trapped Sloan, and led to her untimely death.
A distressing 911 call that has since been released captures the intense panic and desperation of the situation. As the girl’s mother pleaded for her daughter to be saved and emergency workers raced against time, the raw anguish and urgency of the scene were palpable. The heroic efforts of beachgoers and rescuers, who use their hands and makeshift tools to free Sloan, underscore the desperate attempts to save her.
Sloan’s brother Maddox was lucky to be rescued in time, but the tragedy of losing Sloan left an indelible mark on her family and community. Sandra King’s statement reflects the deep sense of disbelief and sadness surrounding this tragic accident. As the community mourns, the accident serves as a grim reminder of the unpredictability of such seemingly innocent activities and the critical importance of vigilance and safety.