A 35-year-old Florida mother was arrested and charged after she allegedly left her 7-year-old daughter alone inside an unlocked car in the parking lot of a Deland bar for hours as she got drunk.
At around 3 a.m. Sunday, Veronica Roxanne Elliot’s daughter wandered into the bar looking for her mother who had left her behind for a drink hours earlier and did not return.
Patrons called 911 after spotting the child inside the business. The girl was brought back to the vehicle and a search for the mother ensued.
Police said that Elliot showed up at around 6:30 a.m., visibly intoxicated, asking officers for the time.
She later claimed that she planned to return to her child within 10 minutes but woke up to find herself on the other side of the parking lot.
Elliott was arrested on child neglect charges. Her daughter is in the custody of the Florida Department of Children and Families.
