{"id":13036,"date":"2025-10-20T23:59:07","date_gmt":"2025-10-20T23:59:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/13036\/"},"modified":"2025-10-20T23:59:07","modified_gmt":"2025-10-20T23:59:07","slug":"texas-mom-charged-with-leaving-baby-alone-on-beach-was-named-to-40-under-40-list","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/13036\/","title":{"rendered":"Texas mom charged with leaving baby alone on beach was named to ’40 Under 40′ list"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Texas mother facing felony charges for allegedly leaving her baby girl alone<\/a> on a Florida beach for more than an hour is a successful health care administrator with high accolades to her name.<\/p>\n

Sara Sommers Wilks, 37, landed on Cardiovascular Business\u2019 \u201cForty Under 40\u201d list in April, with the publication describing her as \u201can exceptional leader\u201d in the health care world.<\/p>\n

\u201cSara\u2019s strategic innovations have not only improved the quality of care but also ensured timely delivery of services,\u201d the publication wrote. \u201cHer ability to navigate complex health care environments and drive positive change is a testament to her leadership and vision.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSara\u2019s contributions to the field of cardiology are marked by her dedication to improving patient outcomes and her commitment to operational excellence,\u201d it added.<\/p>\n

\"SaraHealthcare exec Sara Sommers Wilks is accused of leaving her 6-month-old alone on the beach. Walton County Sheriff’s Office<\/p>\n

But the allegations against Sommers \u2014 a Houston-based regional president of the healthcare group US Heart and Vascular \u2014 are far-cry from the patient care she\u2019s known for at work.<\/p>\n

Sommers and her husband, 40-year-old Brian Wilks, were arrested October 10 on Miramar Beach in Florida\u2019s panhandle after beachgoers noticed a six-month-old baby had been left napping and completely unattended under a tent.<\/p>\n

Authorities were quickly called while good Samaritans kept watch over the baby, and police were on the scene when Sommers and Wilks came walking back with their three other children in tow.<\/p>\n

Both parents claimed they\u2019d gone for a walk and \u201clost track of time,\u201d the Walton County Sheriff\u2019s Office wrote in a\u00a0Facebook post<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The family had been gone for nearly an hour, security footage from the scene showed, while both parents had left their phones behind with the baby and were completely unreachable while away.<\/p>\n

Footage from the scene also showed the adorable baby being held by fellow beachgoers who stepped in and scooped her up when she noticed what was happening.<\/p>\n

\"babyA good Samaritan (pictured) spotted the baby on the beach. Walton County Sheriff’s Office<\/p>\n

Local fire department paramedics soon arrived and found the baby was healthy and not in distress, police said.<\/p>\n

But Sommers and Wilks were still arrested and charged with child neglect without great bodily harm.<\/p>\n

Their four kids were held by local child services until a family member could collect them.<\/p>\n

The parents were held on $1,000 bond after spending the night in jail.<\/p>\n

Neither could be reached for comment.<\/p>\n

Sommers\u2019 workplace also did not respond to request for comment. The business manages and provides support services for small cardiovascular practices across Texas, Alabama and Arizona.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Texas mother facing felony charges for allegedly leaving her baby girl alone on a Florida beach for…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":13037,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[1680,10868,3118,27,29,28,734],"class_list":{"0":"post-13036","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-texas","8":"tag-arrest","9":"tag-beaches","10":"tag-florida","11":"tag-texas","12":"tag-texas-headlines","13":"tag-texas-news","14":"tag-us-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13036","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13036"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13036\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13037"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13036"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13036"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13036"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}