Shannon County, Mo. sheriff recalls what he saw following the arrest of a couple for child neglect

By Michael Deere

ust days after his office arrested a husband and wife for child neglect, the Shannon County Sheriff is sharing what he saw the night ten kids were taken into protective custody.

Not far from Highway 106, that runs between Summersville and Eminence, is the driveway that leads to the home of Mark and Melissa McGregor. They are facing child neglect charges. The home is where authorities removed eight of their biological children and their two adopted daughters. Neighbors in the area all say the same thing; they all haven't had many interactions with the McGregors. If they did, it was very brief. Most of them say they just saw them traveling in their van.

56-year-old Mark McGregor and his wife, 40-year-old Melissa McGregor each face two counts of child abuse or neglect each.

They were arrested after one of their adopted daughters was found by a neighbor walking a dirt road, barefoot, near their family's home on County Road 340 on Monday afternoon.

Court documents show the teen was dirty, had greasy hair, had fresh welt marks on her arms and was bleeding from the bottoms of her feet.

"She was in what I would consider probably as poor condition, Sheriff Darrin Brawley told KY3. Like you said, she was dirty, her clothes weren't the best and she had no shoes on."

Shannon County Sheriff Darrin Brawley says his department has never had dealings with the McGregors before this recent incident.

"Nothing, absolutely nothing. This is the first time they've been on our radar, I guess you can say. I've never even personally met them or their kids before," Brawley stated.

The girl told investigators she hadn't showered in weeks and was starving.

The neighbor and authorities gave the girl food and water, but documents show that wasn't enough.

"She just scarfed down like two peanut butter sandwiches, several bags of potato chips and just continually asked for more," Brawley said.

All ten of the kids are in protective custody at this time.

The McGregors are out of jail on bond and will face a judge later this month.