I mean break out the tile and leave whatever it is stuck to. *If mortar that
was holding the tile remains on the floor, you'd need to chip it off enough
so that the floor is reasonably smooth. *I have no idea what you mean by
"sand base".

Sorry, meant to say "sand mix base", whatever concrete or whatever the
tile is on. My only hesitation in removing the tile is the ledge that
was along the side of the shower appears to be a poured concrete ledge
about 4" wide and maybe 6" tall and the tile appeared to be set
directly onto the concrete or the mortar really adhered to the base as
when we broke the tile off, large chunks of the ledge broke off with
them and remained stuck to the tile. We have some major patching to
do on that before we start putting new tile on.