LAUDERDALE-BY-THE-SEA, Fla. — The Broward County Sheriff's Office has identified the brother and sister who were trapped in a roughly six-foot sand hole that collapsed on Tuesday in Lauderdale-By-The-Sea.
They are 9-year-old Maddox and 7-year-old Sloan Mattingly, part of a family visiting the area from Indiana. Sloan died at the hospital after being rescued. Her brother was hospitalized but is recovering.
In the wake of the tragedy, local lifeguard agencies say they'll be cracking down on people digging deep holes on the beach over spring break.
"Everybody comes to the beach to enjoy the beach, enjoy the sand," Clearwater Beach Lifeguard Manager Patrick Brafford said. "Digging holes in the sand, and making sand castles are part of that, you know? But it can be taken to an extreme measure."
Brafford said it's a dangerous issue that's seemingly growing more prevalent.
"Digging to a certain depth to where that hole becomes unstable and can cause a cave-in, can impose a lot of threat and harm to someone," Brafford explained.
Now, he's asking the public to do their part and take their warnings seriously.
"If they are approached by one of our lifeguards, one of our public safety staff, they need to take that seriously. If they're saying you can't dig a hole or too deep or whatever the case may be, just understand that we're doing it in the best regard for the safety of people," Brafford said.
The American Lifeguard Association National Spokesperson Wyatt Werneth said his lifeguards see large holes almost daily.
"While patrolling this morning, I came up on a hole," he said.
He said the dangers of those large holes extend beyond those digging.
"They left it out here! While we're driving along and on our four-wheelers, or people are walking, they could fall in it! It's also starting to approach turtle season, which is another hazard."
There are many rules people must follow at the beach, and now, the American Lifeguard Association is pushing to add 'no digging holes' to that list.
"Even a small hole like the one we have right here can fill up very quickly. So they are dangerous and something that lifeguards deal with on a daily basis," Werneth said.
While the preference is not digging holes, experts said definitely make sure it is not deeper than the smallest person in your group and fill it back in before you leave.