Sloan Mattingly: Parents of 7-year-old who died in Florida sand hole collapse recall 'chaos and horror'

FORT WAYNE, INDIANA: Therese and Jason Mattingly, the devastated parents of Sloan Mattingly, the seven-year-old Indiana girl who tragically lost her life in a sandhole collapse in Florida on February 20 are talking for the first time. 

The parents appeared on 'Good Morning America' to share the "chaos and horror" they went through when Sloan got swallowed by a sand hole along with her nine-year-old brother Maddox Mattingly.

Sloan Mattingly's 'overprotective' parents Therese and Jason Mattingly had never imagined this would happen

Despite being vigilant parents, they were blindsided by the unforeseen danger of digging deep holes in the sand.

"We're the people that other parents or family members kind of roll their eyes at because we're a little overprotective most of the time and think of everything," Therese Mattingly said.

She said they would often keep in mind the water safety when going out at the beach, and it never occurred to them even once that anything like this could happen. 

"We were just relaxing," Jason Mattingly said. "We were just getting ready to end our day there. And then that's when the incident happened."

Therese and Jason Mattingly felt helpless when the sand hole buried Sloan Mattingly

 Therese and Jason Mattingly were preparing to leave when tragedy struck "really fast."

"That part just hurts really bad because it didn't matter that we were literally right there," Therese said, adding, "It was just a hole, and then there's nothing."

Even though beachgoers were able to rescue Maddox who was buried up to his chest, Sloan remained buried in the sand hole for 20 minutes, said Therese Mattingly. 

"Everyone tried their hardest. And unfortunately, it didn't work out in our favor," Jason Mattingly lamented.

Even though "It's kind of a blur," Jason remembers in his mind that as he was digging, "I had her in my hands, but the weight of the sand was too much."

However, he said, "It didn't matter that we were literally right there." Therese Mattingly added, "It was just a hole. And there's nothing."

Remembering Sloan Mattingly: A beam of light and pure joy 

Sloan was described by her parents as "a beam of light" and pure "joy," who was a beloved first grader known for her enthusiasm and love for making friendship bracelets as she was a fan of Taylor Swift.

"She would come out in the morning and she would fist pump you right out of bed," Therese Mattling said.

She also shared a special bond with her brother Maddox who according to the parents will "always be a little different now."

"But we're willing to do whatever we need to do to make sure he has the help to kind of process this and move forward with Sloan in his heart," Jason Mattingly affirmed.