Overview

• Deputies responded to a June 28 report in Waldo, Florida, where witnesses found two 5-year-olds locked inside a shed with a brick blocking the door
• Investigators noted the unventilated shed lacked electricity, running water, food or phone access and contained a large knife within the children’s reach during 90°F temperatures
• Authorities learned 37-year-old Tamara Stoiber left the children in the care of 59-year-old Sabine Thrift, who failed to provide supervision or basic necessities
• On July 1, Sabine Thrift was booked on two counts of felony child neglect and Tamara Stoiber was booked on two counts of neglect and two counts of false imprisonment
• The Alachua County Sheriff’s Office urged residents to report any child welfare concerns to help safeguard vulnerable minors in rural communities