After reportedly leaving her children in a car for over half an hour while she went shopping at a Dollar Tree, a Florida mom was taken into custody. Two small children were seen alone in a turned-off vehicle in the parking lot of the company on Homestead Road in Lehigh Acres, Fort Myers, on Sunday, prompting a witness to call the Lee County Sheriff’s Office.
The children were strapped into the car when the police opened the doors. The agency made the body camera footage of the incident public. “Are you all okay?” The children responded positively when a deputy asked if it was hot inside, reported Law&Crime.
Marianne Isnar, 42, the children’s mother, emerged from the store shortly after the police began speaking with the children. Isnar reported that she had spent roughly five minutes at the store. “Five minutes? Because I’m hearing like 25 minutes and the car’s not on and the windows aren’t down,” the deputy said. “Any particular reason why you’re leaving the kids in the car?”
Father Arrested for Leaving Four Kids in 125°F Car While Visiting Adult Shop pic.twitter.com/W85Ebm3D3B
— TaraBull (@TaraBull808) July 29, 2025
Although there were water bottles in the car, nothing was inside, according to another police officer. “Empty, empty, empty,” declared the deputy. Given that the temperatures were in the upper 90s and the heat index was in the triple digits, police questioned why Isnar did not appear more alarmed. Even after the car’s doors had been open for ten minutes, firefighters recorded the temperature inside at 100 degrees, according to the police.
One deputy remarked, “You’d think there’d be a little bit more remorse.” “Zero,” shot back the other deputy. After being transported to the Lee County Jail on suspicion of child negligence, Isnar has since secured a $1,500 bond. The children were given to a relative.
A trip to Dollar General in Lehigh Acres landed a Florida woman behind bars after deputies said she left two children inside a hot car while she went shopping. https://t.co/9hvpWkXlaN
— FOX 13 Tampa Bay (@FOX13News) July 29, 2025
“This woman chose to leave her children in a car during one of the hottest days we have had in Southwest Florida this year,” Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno said. “Let this serve as a clear message, we will not hesitate to hold people accountable for putting a child’s life at risk. We are grateful these children are okay.”
Even after the car’s doors had been open for almost ten minutes, a thermometer showed that the interior temperature had risen to 100 degrees, according to LCSO. According to the report, it was 98 degrees outside.
According to the deputies, the mother of the children, Marianne Isnar, came out of the store after a long time and was then arrested. Thankfully, EMS evaluated the youngsters medically before releasing them to a family member. Isnar has been charged with Child Neglect – Unattended Child in a Motor Vehicle.
