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A rising star in the Texas health care industry who was recently honored on the national “40 Under 40” list has been arrested along with her husband after abandoning their six-month-old baby on a Florida beach, authorities said.
According to the Walton County Sheriff’s Office, deputies were called to Miramar Beach around noon on October 10 after beachgoers found a child alone under a tent near 4000 Sandestin Boulevard.
Witnesses told authorities the child was alone for about an hour while the parents walked to the shoreline with their three other children. Other beachgoers contacted local police.
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Sarah Somers Wilkes was charged with child neglect after her baby was found abandoned on a Florida beach for about an hour. (Walton County Sheriff’s Office)
When deputies arrived, South Walton Fire District personnel assessed the child and found she was not in distress, according to a release shared on the Walton County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page.
Shortly afterward, 37-year-old Sarah Somers Wilkes and 40-year-old Brian Wilkes of Houston, Texas returned to the scene.
The couple reportedly admitted that they had placed their baby under the tent for a nap before leaving. He claimed to have lost track of time, a Facebook press release said.
Security footage reviewed by investigators also confirmed that the pair had been missing for approximately an hour and had left their cell phones behind with the child.
Both were arrested and charged with child neglect without great bodily injury, a third-degree felony under Florida law.
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Brian Wilkes and his wife face felony child neglect charges after leaving their baby on a Florida beach for an hour. (Walton County Sheriff’s Office)
They were booked into the Walton County Jail and released the next day on $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 come to pick them up.
Somers Wilks serves as regional president for Southeast Texas at US Heart & Vascular, a healthcare group that supports cardiovascular practices in Texas, Alabama and Arizona.
Earlier this year, he was included in Cardiovascular Business magazine’s “Forty Under 40” list, recognizing him as an innovative and influential leader in cardiology administration.
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Healthcare executive Sarah Somers Wilkes, honored on the ’40 Under 40′ list, was arrested along with her husband for leaving their child alone on a Florida beach.
In its Facebook statement, the Walton County Sheriff’s Office reiterated its commitment to child safety and expressed gratitude to those who intervened at the beach.
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“We are grateful to the quick-thinking beachgoer who raised the alarm and to the others who came to care for the child with the same kindness and concern,” Sheriff Michael Adkinson said in the post.
Fox News Digital has contacted the Walton County Sheriff’s Office for further comment.
