2 charged after adopted children found locked in barn, deputies say
by SHANNON STOWERS | WCHS
Donald Ray Lantz, 63, and Jeanne Jay Whitefeather, 61, both of Sissonville, were charged with felony gross child neglect creating a substantial risk of injury, according to a news release from the Kanawha County Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies said they were called to the 200 block of Cheyenne Lane in Sissonville where two children were found locked in a 20x14 barn following a welfare call.
The caller told dispatchers they believed the children were locked in the barn for days at a time, according to a criminal complaint filed in Kanawha County Magistrate Court.
The caller also told deputies they’d seen Lantz open the door to the barn, say something to the children and then close and lock the door back, deputies said. The caller also alleged the children were made to do farm work and not allowed in the home.
Deputies said they attempted to contact Lantz and Whitefeather for about two hours before forcing entry into the barn where the teenage children were found.
Once inside, deputies said they found the children to have dirty clothes and smelled of body odor, suggesting they hadn’t bathed in days, according to the complaint. A single table and chair and no beds were found.
Deputies said the building’s floor was made of concrete and the walls were plywood, the complaint said. A camera was placed in a corner.
Deputies said they also found another small child locked inside the main residence alone. Forced entry was made into the home and deputies were able to remove the child, the complaint said.
When Lantz and Whitefeather, the adoptive parents of the three children, eventually arrived on the scene, deputies said Whitefeather admitted that the children were left in the shed but claimed they “like it,” according to the criminal complaint. Both were taken into custody at that time.
Child Protective Services were called and took custody of the children, the complaint said.
Bonds for the pair were set at $200,000 each for cash only.