Shamika Mitchell, a Michigan woman, has been sentenced to 15 years in prison after abandoning her 21-month-old son in the surf at Daytona Beach in November 2023.
Mitchell, 38, was convicted of aggravated child abuse and unlawful desertion of a child after she left her toddler partially buried in sand with waves crashing over him.
The child was found by a bystander, unresponsive but with a pulse, just before 1 a.m. on November 8, 2023. The toddler was quickly rescued and treated at a hospital, making a full recovery.
Mitchell was visiting Daytona Beach from Detroit with her children when the incident occurred.

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Surveillance footage showed Mitchell walking down a beach access staircase with the toddler, but she left the area alone shortly after.
Police later questioned Mitchell, who falsely claimed to have left the child with his father, but authorities discovered that the father was in Detroit at the time.
During her trial, Mitchell’s defense argued that she was suffering from a psychotic episode and asked for a minimum prison sentence.