LAUDERDALE-BY-THE-SEA, FL (Boca Post) (Copyright © 2024) — A day at the beach ended in tragedy for a 7-year-old girl from Indiana.

Around 3;16 p.m. On Tuesday, February 20th, Broward County Regional Communications received a call about two kids stuck in the sand near 4424 El Mar Drive in Lauderdale By The Sea.

Deputies from the Broward Sheriff’s Office, along with Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue and Pompano Beach Fire Rescue, quickly responded to the scene. Upon arrival, emergency responders found two siblings. Maddox Mattingly, aged 9 and his sister Sloan Mattingly, aged 7. The girl was taken to Broward Health Medical Center but unfortunately passed away later that day. Detectives from the Broward Sheriff’s Office Homicide Unit were called in to investigate.

Initial findings indicate that the children and their parents were visiting from Indiana and had been digging a hole in the sand when they got trapped. The circumstances surrounding this tragic incident are still being looked into.