Healthcare Exec, Husband Charged in Baby Neglect

On Oct. 10, Sara Sommers Wilks, 37, a regional president for U.S. Heart and Vascular, and her husband Brian Wilks, 40, were arrested after deputies say they left their six-month-old daughter unattended under a tent at Miramar Beach near the Hilton Sandestin while they walked the shore with three other children. The couple, who live in a $970,000 Houston home, told police they "lost track of time," said they left their phones with the baby, and were gone roughly 50 minutes to an hour before returning; a Good Samaritan was caring for the infant and officers reported the baby's vitals were normal. The Florida Department of Children and Families temporarily took the other children into custody until relatives from Texas could arrive. Both parents were charged with child neglect without great bodily harm, a third-degree felony, and posted a $1,000 bond the next day. Walton County officials, including Major Dustin Cosson and Sheriff Michael Adkinson, condemned the decision as unreasonably risky for an infant and praised the bystanders who intervened.