A promising figure in the Texas healthcare scene, recently recognized on a prestigious national “40 Under 40” list, has found herself in legal trouble alongside her husband. The couple has been charged after their six-month-old baby was discovered alone on a Florida beach, authorities reported.
The Walton County Sheriff’s Office revealed that deputies responded to a call at Miramar Beach around noon on October 10. Concerned beachgoers had come across a baby left unattended beneath a tent near the 4000 block of Sandestin Boulevard.
Eyewitnesses recounted to the police that the infant had been left for close to an hour while the parents strolled down the shoreline with their three other children. Alarmed by the situation, bystanders promptly alerted local law enforcement.
Sara Sommers Wilks, 37, has been charged with child neglect after authorities found her baby unattended. Her husband, Brian Wilks, 40, was also implicated in the incident.
As detailed in a statement posted on the Walton County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page, when deputies arrived, the baby was evaluated by South Walton Fire District personnel, who determined that the child was not in distress.
Not long after the assessment, Sara and Brian Wilks, both residents of Houston, Texas, returned to the location where their child had been found.
The couple reportedly admitted to placing their child under the tent for a nap before leaving. The Facebook press release said they claimed they had lost track of time.
Security footage reviewed by investigators also confirmed the pair had been gone for nearly an hour and had left their cell phones behind with the baby.
Both were arrested and charged with child neglect without great bodily harm, a third-degree felony under Florida law.
Brian Wilks faces felony child neglect charges with his wife after abandoning their child on a Florida beach for an hour. (Walton County’s Sheriff’s Office)
They were booked into the Walton County Jail and released the following day on a $1,000 bond each.
The Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF) took custody of the couple’s four children until relatives from Texas could arrive to collect them.
Sommers Wilks serves as the Regional President for Southeast Texas at US Heart and Vascular, a healthcare group that supports cardiovascular practices in Texas, Alabama, and Arizona.
Earlier this year, she was featured in Cardiovascular Business magazine’s “Forty Under 40” list, which recognized her as an innovative and influential leader in cardiology administration.
Sara Sommers Wilks, a healthcare executive honored on a ’40 Under 40′ list, was arrested with her husband for leaving their baby alone on a Florida beach.
In their Facebook statement, the Walton County Sheriff’s Office reiterated its commitment to child safety and expressed gratitude to those who intervened on the beach.
“We’re thankful for the quick-thinking beachgoer who raised the alarm and for those who stepped in to care for the child with the same kindness and concern they would show their own,” said Sheriff Michael Adkinson in the post.
Fox News Digital has reached out to Walton County Sheriff’s Office for further comment.
