Mom Allegedly Left Twins with Grandma Who 'Didn't Want to Babysit.' The Girls Were Later Found Trapped in a Shed

A mother and grandmother in Florida have been arrested after authorities claim they found two young children trapped alone in a shed. 

Tamara Stoiber, 37, and Sabine Thrift, 59, were arrested after deputies found the young children abandoned. Stoiber was charged with two counts of child neglect and two counts of false imprisonment, the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office said in a social media post. 

The sheriff’s office said Stoiber showed up to Thrift’s house unannounced with her 5-year-old twin daughters so that she could go to the store. Thrift allegedly told deputies that she did not want to babysit the children.

On June 28, deputies received a call from “concerned citizens” who said that two young children had been abandoned in a shed near a highway, the sheriff’s office said in its statement. 

Witnesses told deputies that the girls were locked in the shed and a brick was placed against the door to prevent them from leaving, the sheriff’s office said. 

The twins were allegedly left without any access to food or a way to call for help, according to the sheriff’s office. The shed also had no electricity or running water. Deputies noted that a large knife was within the children’s reach.

The children were found unharmed but were described as being malnourished, disheveled and dirty, WOFL reported, citing authorities.

“I want you to also keep in mind that these young girls are probably extremely scared, frightened, it’s dark, it is very early between midnight and 3 to 3:30 in the morning,” Chris Sims, captain and public information officer for the sheriff’s office, told the outlet.

“So, heaven forbid these young girls walk out of the shed looking for help, they would unfortunately probably wander into a major highway and catastrophic results would probably take place,” he said.

The sheriff’s office alleged the girls’ mother, Stoiber, “stepped away for a quick errand” and left the children to be taken care of by Thrift, the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office said. Yet, Stoiber ended up being gone for several hours.

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Thrift was then arrested and booked into the Alachua County Jail on a $20,000 bond, the Orlando Sentinel reported.

Stoiber was arrested after deputies determined that she had allegedly left the twins without adequate supervision or access to food, water, or a phone, the outlet reported.

“The safety and well-being of children remain a top priority for our agency. We are committed to protecting children from neglect and abuse, and we encourage the community to report any concerns involving child welfare,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement.

If you suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.