Two Texas Parents Arrested for Child Neglect After Leaving Their Baby Alone on a Florida Beach, and One of Them Has a Company of Hearts.

Security footage revealed that the child was left alone for 56 minutes when both parents went to the beach with their three other children, without a phone.

Sara Sommers Wilks, 37, is the regional president of US Heart and Vascular in Houston, a company that supports cardiac procedures throughout Texas, Alabama, and Arizona. In April, he was named to Cardiovascular Business magazine’s Forty Under 40 Class of 2025, recognized for his work improving patient experience and excellence in cardiovascular care.

She and her husband Brian, 40, told deputies they put their six-month-old daughter under a tent at Miramar Beach for a routine nap on Friday, Oct. 10, then left with their three older children and “lost time.” Miramar Beach sits in Walton County in the Florida Panhandle, a popular vacation spot near Destin and Sandestin.

Deputies responded to 4000 Sandestin Boulevard around noon after a shocked beachgoer saw the baby alone. Good Samaritans were already taking care of the child when deputies arrived. When the parents went back, they agreed to leave the child under the tent before they left with their other children. The South Walton Fire District evaluated the infant at the scene and confirmed normal vitals, no stress, and no injuries.

Both parents were charged with child neglect without great bodily injury and released the next day on a $1,000 bond. The Florida Department of Children and Families took custody of the children until relatives arrived from Texas.

In May 2026, Sara and Brian entered into deferred prosecution agreements. For the next 12 months (with a possible early termination of 6) each must pay $1,000 in fines and court costs, complete 25 hours of community service, attend a parenting class, stay out of trouble with the law, and stay out of Walton County. If they meet all the criteria, prosecutors will drop the charges entirely. Florida requires proof of “innocent negligence” for a criminal charge, and with no injury to the child and no prior record, diversion is a common outcome of first-degree charges like this one.

The Walton County Sheriff’s Office said the arrest is a reminder that “even brief moments of inattention can have serious and sometimes fatal consequences.”

“Thank you for the quick-thinking mariner 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.

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