LAKE HAVASU CITY — A Lake Havasu City woman has been placed on probation for an impairment-related child abuse charge involving her young child. Police investigation began Dec. 17, 2025 when officers were summoned to Lake Havasu Regional Medical Center.
Staff advised that they were not able to examine the child because its mother, Sarah Short, 36, left the facility before they were able to check a condition involving the child’s cold legs.
A police report indicated that officers responded to Short’s residence where she was located in her bedroom. “Sarah was found highly intoxicated and passed out with a 10-month-old child with a penny in the child’s mouth,” it said.
Fire department personnel arrived and the child was transported back to the hospital, where it was determined it was in good health.
Police learned more through contact with a man who advised he and Short had two children together through an off and on relationship over a “few years.” Officers were informed that Short had been drinking heavily for two weeks after her alcohol rehabilitation treatment program exit.
Officers were also advised that the Department of Child Services had opened an investigation involving Short’s history of impairment while caring for kids.
Short was arrested for child abuse and a neglect-related offense. She was convicted of child abuse in a plea deal.
Mohave County Superior Court judge Lee Jantzen placed Short on probation for three years during a Feb. 17 sentencing hearing. He settled on no further incarceration, imposing a 36-day jail sentence while crediting her for the same number of days already spent in custody.
Judge Jantzen ordered a substance abuse assessment and directed Short to perform 40 hours of community work service.
