Heroic Bystander Rescues Toddler Abandoned at Beach, Mother Sentenced to 15 Years!

Race Day Live  In November 2023, a Michigan woman named Shamika Mitchell took her two children, ages 1 and 17, to Daytona Beach, Florida.

Late at night, she carried her youngest son to the beach but returned without him. Security footage captured her movements, and a bystander later found the abandoned child.

On January 30, 2025, Mitchell was sentenced to 15 years in prison for child abuse and neglect.

According to reports from The Daytona Beach News-Journal, Mitchell had parked her van in the lot of St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church on November 7, 2023.

A security guard allowed her to stay there overnight. However, before midnight, the guard noticed Mitchell heading toward the beach, carrying something wrapped in a red blanket. That “something” was her toddler.

Surveillance footage showed her walking past a convention center and down to the beach. Moments later, she returned, swinging her arms—no longer carrying the child.

Back at the van, her 17-year-old son realized his little brother was missing. The teenager confronted Mitchell, yelling at her in distress.

Seeing the commotion, the security guard called 911. When questioned, Mitchell told police she had left the toddler with his father at a 7-Eleven. However, officers quickly confirmed that the father was in Detroit at the time.

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As police were investigating, a couple walking along the beach spotted the abandoned child near the water.

The woman rushed in and pulled the soaking-wet toddler to safety while another person called the authorities. The child had been alone for 40 minutes before being rescued.

Mitchell was arrested and charged with unlawful desertion of a child and aggravated child abuse. During the trial, Circuit Judge Karen Foxman noted that Mitchell was the sole caregiver for her children but had been using alcohol, marijuana, and meth.

In November 2024, a jury found her guilty. More than a year after the incident, on January 30, 2025, she was sentenced to 15 years in prison. She was credited for 449 days already served.

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