Police in Florida say a woman left her kids in the car for almost 30 minutes while she went shopping at Dollar Tree.
On Sunday, someone called the Lee County Sheriff’s Office to report seeing two young children alone in a car that was not running in the parking lot of the company on Homestead Road in Lehigh Acres, Fort Myers. When the police opened the doors, they saw the kids strapped into the car.
The agency shared video of the incident from body cameras.
“Are you guys okay?” In response to the deputy’s question, “Is it hot in here?” the kids said yes.
marianne Isnar, 42, came out of the store not long after the cops started talking to the kids. She is their mother. She told them she had only been in the store for five minutes.
“Five minutes?” “Because I can hear about 25 minutes and the windows aren’t down or the car isn’t on,” the cop said. “Any particular reason why you’re leaving the kids in the car?”
Another officer saw that the water bottles in the car did not have anything in them.
“Empty, empty, empty,” the deputy said.
Police were confused as to why Isnar didn’t seem more worried, since it was in the high 90s and the heat index was in the triple digits. It was 100 degrees inside the car, even though the doors had been open for 10 minutes, according to the cops.
One cop said, “You’d think there’d be a little more regret.”
“Zero,” said the other deputy in response.
Isnar was charged with neglecting a child and taken to the Lee County Jail, where she has since paid a $1,500 bond. The children were given to a family friend.
Officer Carmine Marceno of Lee County said, “This woman left her kids in the car on one of the hottest days we’ve had in Southwest Florida this year.” “This should send a clear message: we will not be afraid to punish people who put a child’s life in danger.” We’re glad these kids are safe.
