Someone buy this bystander a drink. A heroic bystander saved a toddler from being swept out to sea and getting drowned in the surf. I wish I could say that the toddler simply got lost. But this story tragically took a devastating twist.
It turns out a Michigan mother had abandoned her 1-year-old son in the surf. She left him partially buried and in dire circumstances. It's honestly a miracle that things didn't turn out much worse. Under different circumstances, I would be writing about the toddler's death. Courts ended up sentencing 38-year-old Smika Mitchell for her crimes.
They found her guilty of unlawful desertion of a child and aggravated child abuse. She will be serving 15 years in prison followed by another 15 years of probation. Given the fact the toddler could have died, I would say the mother got off lightly. She'll have plenty of time to reflect on what she has done.
Toddler Nearly Drowns
Assistant Public Defender Rachel Brothers pleaded for her client to get the minimum sentence. According to The Daytona Beach News-Journal, Brothers argued that Mitchell was undergoing a psychotic episode. She asked for the Mother to undergo therapy and treatment as part of their defense. Mitchell initially faced up to 35 years in prison.
Mitchell's teenage son confirmed in his call to emergency service that his mother had been having episodes lately. On November 8, she had abandoned her 1-year-old at Daytona Beach during a trip there with her children. The family spent the night in a rented minivan near a local church.
However, shortly before midnight, Mitchell brought her toddler to the surf and left the beach without the baby. Fast forward an hour later, and a woman found the child in the surf "on his hands and knees, hands buried in the sand up to his wrists and waves were crashing over his head."
