STEUBEN CO., Ind. (ADAMS) – Steuben County Sheriff’s Office says that a couple has been arrested for alleged abuse of a three-year-old. Police say the girl is now in the hospital with life-threatening injuries.
Friday around 11:20 p.m. the Steuben County Sheriff’s Office was contacted by the Kendallville Police Department regarding a child that had been taken to a local hospital with injuries. Officials think she was hurt at a campground near Lake Gage.
The Steuben County Sheriff’s Office released the following:
On October 15, 2021 at approximately 11:20 PM the Steuben County Sheriff’s Office was contacted by the Kendallville Police Department reference a child abuse investigation. A three-year-old child had been taken to Cameron Hospital located in Angola, Indian regarding injuries they had sustained. The injuries were inconsistent with the information being provided by the father, Derek Pierce of Kendallville, Indiana and the girlfriend, Dakota McHenry of Fort Wayne, Indiana. Cameron Hospital contacted the Kendallville Police Department because they believed the injuries occurred there. Upon further investigation by the Steuben County Sheriff’s Office and Kendallville Police Department, it was determined the injuries had occurred in Steuben County, Indiana at HI-VUE campground near Lake Gage.
Upon further investigation, Dakota McHenry age 25 of Fort Wayne, Indiana was arrested by the Steuben County Sheriff’s Office for Neglect of a Dependent Causing Serious Bodily Injury a Level 1 Felony, Domestic Battery to a child less than 14 years of age causing serious bodily injury a Level 3 Felony and Obstruction of Justice a Level 5 Felony.
Derek Pierce, age 31 of Kendallville, Indiana was arrested by the Steuben County Sheriff’s Office for Neglect of a Dependent Causing Serious Bodily Injury a Level 1 Felony and Obstruction of Justice a Level 5 Felony.
McHenry and Pierce are both being held without bond.
The child was transported to Parkview Regional Medical Center in Fort Wayne, Indiana where the child is listed in critically unstable condition.
