Grandmother, mother arrested in child neglect case involving locked shed

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (WCJB) - Deputies with the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office (ASO) said they have arrested another woman on allegations of a child abuse incident we reported on yesterday.

We told you ASO deputies arrested 59-year-old Sabine Thrift, of Ga., after she was accused of locking two five-year-old girls in a Waldo shed without running water or electricity.

After further investigation, deputies found that Thrift needed to go to the store while taking care of two five-year-olds.

According to the arrest reports, Thrift is the children’s grandmother and was taking care of them while their mother, 37-year-old Tamara Stoiber, of Live Oak, had left them unattended.

According to deputies, the people who reported the abandoned children found them in the shed on their property, with the door blocked by a brick so the young girls could not get out.

According to deputies, Stoiber had arrived at the property earlier that day with her two daughters and boyfriend unannounced; they were soaking wet and told the landowners they had “walked from Gainesville to Waldo.”

One of the reportees told deputies she attempted to give the two girls a footlong sandwich, but Stoiber ate the whole sandwich without sharing it with the children. They said they also watched Stoiber leave with her boyfriend, and did not see Thrift, the girl’s grandmother, until later.

Thrift said Stoiber had left to go to the store, but did not specify which one. Sabine also texted Stoiber, “I am leaving there, your kids [would] like to know what store you went [to].

Stoiber didn’t return until just before 7 a.m., which deputies said they thought was longer than a usual trip to “the store”.

Thrift told deputies post-Miranda, she did not want to babysit the children and sat with them for two hours before leaving them for two hours before returning to the location.

Deputies said the shed has no electricity, running water, or adequate lighting outside, so it is not suitable to live in.

The shed also had a knife inside, close in proximity to where the children were sleeping, and was located across the street from a busy highway.

Thrift was arrested early Saturday morning and is facing felony child neglect charges. Her bond was set at $20,000.

An hour later, Stoiber was also arrested and had a bond set at $70,000.

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