Grandma and mother arrested after 2 kids found abandoned and locked in shed without basic necessities

ALACHUA COUNTY, Fla. (TCN) — Deputies recently arrested a grandmother and a mother on suspicion of abandoning two young children in a shed without running water or electricity.

On June 28, the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office responded to a report of two kids who had been abandoned in Waldo. Responding deputies met with witnesses who claimed two 5-year-old children had been locked inside a shed with a brick against the door to stop them from escaping.

According to authorities, the shed didn’t have electricity or running water. Deputies reportedly found a knife within the kids’ reach and noticed there wasn’t any food or a way to call for help.

Witnesses identified the suspects as 59-year-old Sabine Thrift and 37-year-old Tamara Stoiber, who WCJB-TV reports are the victims’ grandmother and mother, respectively.

Stoiber allegedly left the kids in Thrift’s care, but Thrift “refused to supervise them.” Stoiber reportedly told officials she left to run an errand but was gone for several hours.

Deputies arrested Thrift on two counts of child neglect. Authorities located Stoiber and arrested her on two counts of child neglect and two counts of false imprisonment.

The sheriff’s office alleges that Stoiber “had left the children without adequate supervision or basic necessities, including food, water, and access to a phone.”

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