Lake Mary Mother Arrested After Leaving Daughter, 12, Alone at CityWalk Bar

A 12-year-old girl sat crying alone on a bar stool at the CW Shoreline Bar inside Universal Orlando's CityWalk on the night of March 7 while her mother, according to deputies, had stormed out after a confrontation and moved on to a second bar down the entertainment complex.

Orange County Sheriff's Office deputies responded to the CW Shoreline Bar around 10:30 p.m. Saturday after the child was found alone. The girl told deputies her mother, Amanda Laurel Thorpe, 33, of Lake Mary, had brought her to the bar while already intoxicated. When deputies located Thorpe, she was not searching for her daughter. She was dancing with a drink in her hand inside the Red Coconut Club.

The arrest affidavit describes the sequence of events in stark detail. Thorpe had been drinking at CW Shoreline Bar when an argument broke out. Her 12-year-old told her she wanted to go back to the hotel room because she was tired. According to the affidavit, "Amanda got livid with (redacted), displayed the middle finger, said 'F you,' and left." The child stayed behind.

A responding deputy's written observations of Thorpe leave little ambiguity about her condition that night. "I noticed that Amanda had red, bloodshot eyes, uncontrollable swaying of the body, unbalance while walking, and the scent of fruity purities coming from her breath," the deputy wrote in the affidavit. When confronted by deputies, Thorpe was initially unaware her daughter was not with her and then claimed the girl was in the hotel room.

Thorpe was arrested and booked into jail on suspicion of child neglect. The 12-year-old, found "visibly upset, crying, and sitting alone on a bar stool by the bar," was later picked up by her grandfather.

Orange County Clerk of Court records show Thorpe was granted a $2,500 cash bond. She has pleaded not guilty to the child neglect charge. An attorney is listed on her case file.