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A Florida mother found herself behind bars after allegedly abandoning her 12-year-old daughter at a Universal CityWalk bar while she went dancing at a different venue.
According to an affidavit, the incident unfolded on Saturday night around 10:30 p.m. when Orange County deputies responded to a call at the Shoreline Bar. A concerned patron reported witnessing Amanda Thorpe make an obscene gesture towards her daughter, hurling a profanity before storming off. This prompted the patron to alert the bartender, who then notified Universal security, leading to the sheriff’s office being called in.
When deputies arrived, they discovered the young girl visibly distraught, seated alone on a bar stool and in tears. She informed the officers that her mother had been intoxicated and upset by a comment made by another patron. She further explained that her mother expressed a desire to visit the Red Coconut Club, but the daughter was exhausted and preferred to return to their hotel.
Despite her daughter’s plea, Thorpe reportedly became enraged, made an obscene gesture, verbally lashed out, and left the Shoreline Bar without her daughter.
At that point, Thorpe “got livid with [redacted], displayed the middle finger, said, ‘F*** you,’ and left the CW Shoreline Bar without” her daughter.
Universal Security found Thorpe at the Red Coconut Club, and deputies headed to that bar to speak with her. Security pointed her out on the dance floor, dancing alone with a drink in her hand.
She told deputies that she had no idea her daughter was at the Shoreline Bar alone and thought she was with her the entire time. She later changed that story and said she thought she was at their hotel.
“Additionally, Amanda spontaneously uttered that she was confused about why she would possibly go to jail, as she had done this before,” the affidavit says.
Further, the deputy noted, she “had red, bloodshot eyes, uncontrollable swaying of the body, unbalance while walking, and the scent of fruity purities coming from her breath, which, based on my training, knowledge, and experience as a law enforcement officer, are indications of impairment from an alcoholic beverage.”
Thorpe was booked into the Orange County jail on a charge of child neglect.
WESH said the girl’s grandfather was notified of what happened and picked her up. Deputies also notified the state Department of Children and Familes.