Photo: West Virginia Regional Jail & Correctional Facility Authority
A couple from West Virginia were arrested after two of their adopted children were found locked in a small barn in their backyard. The Kanawha County Sheriff's Office said that Donald Ray Lantz, 63, and Jeanne Jay Whitefeather, 61, were charged with felony gross child neglect, creating a substantial risk of injury.
Officials said that the Sheriff's Office received a 911 call about the welfare of the children on Monday (October 2) evening. Deputy H.K. Burdette responded and discovered two children locked in a barn.
Burdette had to force her way into the barn to free the boy and girl who were trapped inside.
"The children had no means to exit the barn on their own, no running water, no bathroom facilities, and were obviously deprived of adequate hygienic care and food," the Sheriff's Office said in a statement.
The female told officers that they were given food at 6 a.m. and had been locked in the shed ever since. There were no adults in the home at the time, but officers found a third child, who was inside the house in "an unprotected loft, approximately 15 feet high."
Officials did not identify the children or provide their ages.
When Lantz and Whitefeather returned home later that night, they were taken into custody. Whitefeather admitted that they locked their adoptive children in the barn, claiming "they like it."
Child Protective Services took custody of the children and is assisting the sheriff's office with the investigation.