Florida mom ditches her kids with an Uber driver. 2 hours later, he’s still waiting

A Sunrise, Florida, mother is facing criminal charges after allegedly leaving her two young children in an Uber vehicle for hours on the night of February 13, 2026, telling the driver she’d “be back in three minutes,” a promise she never kept.

According to the Sunrise Police Department’s probable‑cause affidavit, Emily Sabogal, 32, called an Uber with her children at a shopping plaza along West Commercial Boulevard in the city, holding a cup the driver believed contained alcohol.

After a brief ride, she reportedly canceled the trip via the driver’s phone, gave him $10 cash, and instructed him to stop the vehicle. She then exited the car, told the driver she would return in “3 minutes,” and walked away, leaving her kids with the driver.

The Uber driver waited. And waited. After about an hour passed with no sign of Sabogal, he called her phone. She allegedly answered and told him she would return in “12 minutes,” then hung up. When she failed to show, and subsequent calls went unanswered, the driver contacted 911 to report the situation.

What happened to Sabogal’s kids?

When officers arrived, they found Sabogal’s children, a 3-year-old boy and a 4-year-old girl, unharmed but “thirsty and hungry,” telling officers they were concerned for their mother. Police later located Sabogal walking near a McDonald’s just a few miles from the Uber car’s last known location. According to the arrest report, she could not explain why she left the children with the driver or how she had gotten to the restaurant.

According to NBC Miami, officials also spoke with staff from a nearby establishment, Bob G’s Wings N’ Things, who reportedly said Sabogal had been at the business with her children earlier that evening. They claimed her children were unsupervised and running around as Sabogal “enjoyed multiple alcoholic beverages at the bar,” according to authorities.

Sabogal was arrested and charged with child neglect without great bodily harm and desertion of a child, serious offenses under Florida law that allege she abandoned her parental duties by leaving her children with an unknown adult in a confined space.

She was booked into the Broward County Jail and later released after posting bond.

As of this writing, Sabogal’s case remains active. Court records do not yet list a defense attorney, and further hearings are expected as prosecutors prepare their case. No formal trial date has been announced publicly.

Family reaction and custody concerns

The children’s father expressed concern over the incident and stated he intends to pursue full custody of the children in family court. According to his account, this episode was not an isolated display of troubling behavior, and he wants to ensure his children’s safety moving forward.

“Moving forward, she needs help,” he told Florida’s WPLG. “I don’t understand how someone in their right mind would do something like this,” he said. “She’s obviously not OK, and this needs to end.”