Child Dies In Foster Care In Okmulgee County

By: Yvonne Harris

Okmulgee - Authorities are still trying to piece together the details following the death of a three-year-old girl in foster care.

It happened in Okmulgee County. Kyra Zubah was in a foster care program under the Muscogee Creek Nation. Police say she suffered a head injury last Friday, but it wasn't until Saturday that she was brought to Okmulgee Memorial Hospital for treatment.

Kyra was later sent to Saint Francis Hospital in Tulsa, where she died. Her foster mother, Sharon Whitecloud, had three other children in her care -- an infant, a six-year-old and a nine-year-old.

Whitecloud was licensed through the Muscogee Creek Nation. The tribe often works with the Department of Human Services in placing Native American children.

"The Oklahoma DHS calls our tribal office, makes them aware that there is a Creek citizen out there," says Thompson Gouge.

Under the Creek Nation foster care program policies, background checks are done on applicants. But, we found in court records that Sharon Whitecloud had prior convictions for larceny and bogus checks.

Until the medical examiner's report is complete, Whitecloud faces two counts of aggravated assault, one involved child neglect, the other child abuse. It's believed head trauma killed Kyra.

"We're going slow so we don't miss anything," says Okmulgee County Sheriff Eddy Rice. "So, we're just trying to put this case together, do an investigation and make sure that there's justice."

Several agencies are working the case to determine what went wrong and who failed a three-year-old girl.

"We have Creek Nation DHS, Oklahoma DHS, Okmulgee County Sheriff's Office, also working with OSBI," says Rice.

Three other children in Whitecloud's care have been removed from her home.