Donald Lantz and Jeanne Whitefeather, the white West Virginia couple accused of forcing adopted black children to work as slaves, fled across country after CPS probe into 'threatening kids with bullwhip and gun'

The achromatic mates accused of forcing their adopted achromatic children to activity arsenic slaves and unrecorded wrong a locked barn fled their longtime location authorities to flight increasing scrutiny from authorities there, DailyMail.com tin reveal. 

Donald Lantz and his woman Jeanne Whitefeather abruptly sold their ranch early past twelvemonth pursuing probes from nan sheriff’s agency successful Okanogan County, Washington, and  Child Protective Services who were threatening to region their oldest boy from nan home, sources say. 

DailyMail.com has obtained a half twelve constabulary reports giving much shocking specifications – including really 2 of their children ran distant from home, and they allegedly forced 1 of them astatine gunpoint to enactment successful his room while utilizing a bullwhip for punishment.

The family moved to Sissonville, West Virginia, 15 miles northbound of Charleston, nan authorities capital. When they arrived, Lantz instantly complained that nan barn was excessively adjacent to nan roadworthy and he was unhappy astatine nan deficiency of privacy, according to 1 neighbor.

They were arrested there, months aft nan relocation, aft their 5 children were recovered locked successful a dilapidated shed aft allegedly laboring connected surrounding farmland.

Both were charged pinch kid abuse. Prosecutors successful Kanawah County opportunity that nan mates targeted nan children – aged 16, 14, 11, 9 and six – because of their title and that they were ‘used fundamentally arsenic slaves’.

The mates appeared successful tribunal successful June to look upgraded charges, including quality trafficking of a insignificant child, usage of a insignificant kid successful forced labor, and kid neglect creating important consequence of superior bodily wounded aliases death.

Lantz, 63, and Whitefeather, 62, had lived successful nan mini agrarian municipality of Tonasket, Washington, conscionable 20 miles from nan Canadian border, since 2019, purchasing nan 80-acre Big Rock Ranch to raise 5 children they’d adopted.

According to Darren Wise, a section existent property supplier who became a family friend, nan children were from inner-city Chicago and ‘more aliases little a family unit'.

‘That’s why Jeanne and Don elected to return each 5 of them and supply them pinch a life they ne'er would person gotten wherever they were,’ Wise told DailyMail.com Wednesday. 

‘They bought this location present arsenic their everlastingly location to raise these kids and bring them up successful nan country.’

The mates home-schooled nan children, Wise said, and built an hold to 1 of nan properties on-site to service arsenic a makeshift schoolhouse. The kids only periodically reported to an existent schoolhouse building, sources said.

‘They conscionable knew that this would beryllium a large alteration for nan kids,’ Wise said successful explaining nan determination to support their kids home. ‘They’d been successful nan nationalist schoolhouse strategy successful nan past and not had bully experiences. 

'Jeanne was going to enactment location and activity connected that until nan kids sewage progressive successful nan organization and felt comfortable going to school.

‘You propulsion them retired of nan inner-city of Chicago and you propulsion them connected an 80-acre spot successful nan mediate of much aliases little nowhere, it’s going to beryllium rather a shock,’ he added.

The family lived connected a sprawling spot successful a municipality of conscionable 1,000 people, pinch their main location situated down a elevation and not visible from nan roadway. 

But neighbors told DailyMail.com that they’d occasionally spot nan family look from down nan hill. 

The kids would beryllium seen lining up connected a regular ground to usage an outhouse retired beforehand and carrying 5-gallon buckets to h2o a caller swath of trees. 

The family besides had galore animals including sheep and dogs. According to Wise, Whitefeather was besides successful nan early stages of breeding wallabies. He said her hubby had worked fighting wildfires.

Issues pinch nan family soon came to nan attraction of rule enforcement, starting successful 2020 erstwhile Whitefeather called 911 to study her aged mom having an affectional breakdown while performing chores.

Then problems pinch nan family arose.

On July 4, 2022, Lantz called 911 to study that his girl had tally distant 24 hours earlier, upset because she’d been grounded. The dada told constabulary his girl knew cipher successful nan area, was acrophobic of nan acheronian and astir apt successful hiding. She was reported recovered nan adjacent day.

That November 1, constabulary were called to a section infirmary wherever nan eldest son, successful his early teens, was having a meltdown. When officers arrived, nan dada was seen pinning his boy to nan level aft he purportedly ‘freaked retired and tried to tally out,’ nan constabulary study states.

Two days later, nan aforesaid boy accused his parents of abuse, telling infirmary unit that ‘they fastener him successful nan chamber pinch a bucket to usage for nan bathroom.’

The teen besides accused his parents of physically abusing his sister. That triggered a telephone to constabulary and a CPS referral. But nan boy was promptly discharged to his family because location were nary inpatient furniture available, nan study states.

The lawman later stopped by nan ranch, wherever nan mom explained that nan boy was receiving therapy for intelligence issues, but that ‘with puberty coming connected it has gotten worse'.

Whitefeather told nan lawman that her different children were frightened of him coming home.

Still, she wouldn’t fto nan serviceman spot nan son’s bedroom, claiming her hubby wouldn’t fto that hap ‘because nan different kids are sleeping'.

Quizzed further astir their surviving arrangements, nan mom told nan deputy, cryptically, that ‘they person ample nutrient and they are fresh for a large economical crash'.

Later that aforesaid month, nan older boy, reportedly wearing a ragged aged overgarment complete a t-shirt connected a freezing night, ran distant crossed a snowy section to a neighbor’s spot wherever he called police.

He claimed that he’d had a fist conflict pinch his dada and been grounded for ‘speaking backmost to mother.’ He besides revealed that location were weapons successful nan house, and that his mom waved a weapon astatine him erstwhile he tried to time off his room, nan records show.

The boy besides told constabulary that his mom wouldn’t fto him telephone for thief erstwhile he required aesculapian attraction and needed to summation his medication.

Despite nan crisis, nan lawman wrote successful his study that ‘I recovered him to beryllium mentally competent for his age' and he ‘didn’t fishy intelligence wellness issues'.

One of those neighbors, however, told DailyMail.com that nan boy made immoderate startling remarks.

‘It was beautiful strange,’ nan female recalled. ‘He told america he was grounded because he’d insulted his mother. He didn’t opportunity really he insulted her, but he did opportunity why. 

'He said it was because she had demons successful her and he wanted to thief get them out. He said he was portion of a group online that believes nan demons could alteration them into animals. He said he was becoming a lion.’

‘He said his sound was sore because each his believe roaring to go a lion,’ she added. ‘I didn’t really reside nan lion situation, conscionable talked much astir whether he was acrophobic of demons.’

As nan boy was taken to nan hospital, nan lawman drove to nan ranch. He reported that cipher answered nan door, and nan lights were off, connected a spot littered pinch surgery down cars. He near a card, only to beryllium told afterwards that family had been location astatine nan time.

The lawman besides phoned a CPS interrogator who said nan boy was ‘known to person hallucinations'.

The serviceman told nan investigator: ‘I was successful nan process of assessing whether he needed to spell into protective custody,’ his study states.

Later that night, Lantz purportedly told nan serviceman that his older boy had ‘assaulted his woman and nan different children', and that they were each acrophobic of him returning home.

The dada said that because of this, his boy had ‘been separated from everybody’ and was ‘now surviving successful an flat detached from nan main residence,’ nan study states.

The serviceman sought to inspect nan flat for ‘signs of neglect.’ After first resistance, nan dada fto him in.

‘I saw nan flat and noticed it was heavy monitored by cameras astatine each disposable corner, including (the boy’s) bedroom,’ nan serviceman observed.

He besides noted nan room was mostly quiet pinch ‘little to nary entertainment,’ but said location was thing to bespeak nan portion was unsafe.

The boy was discharged from nan infirmary nan pursuing day, though nan lawman didn’t understand why.

‘The specifications of nan determination were not clear to me,’ nan lawman reported.

The serviceman acknowledged that ‘at nan time, nary criminal matter exists’ but cautioned that ‘due to different juvenile moving distant from nan residence successful nan past 2 months, I recovered nan shape concerning and believed it was a matter that needed to beryllium looked astatine successful further detail'.

Six weeks later, connected February 2, nan CPS lawsuit interrogator called constabulary again, this clip to study different concerning revelation. The boy during a caller convention told his therapist that he’d attacked his mother successful October pinch a portion of wood ‘because he was being deed pinch a bullwhip'.

The CPS supplier besides dropped different bombshells. She said nan boy whitethorn beryllium ‘bipolar and schizophrenic,’ and is being ‘singled retired and targeted’ by his parents, surviving by himself upstairs successful a garage.

The CPS interrogator added that ‘multiple times he has been caught eating retired of nan garbage astatine schoolhouse and ne'er appears to beryllium full'.

The interrogator pointed retired that nan parents and children person been uncooperative pinch their fact-finding efforts.

‘The parents are very anti-authority and very overmuch against having nan children talked to aliases group coming into nan house,’ nan kid use worker is said to person told nan officer.

‘I asked (her) if she had capable to record for a tribunal bid to remove’ nan boy, and she said she didn’t ‘at this time,’ nan serviceman wrote successful his report.

The CPS worker said she’d request to make a much elaborate appraisal of nan home, but that she was concerned because location were firearms successful nan location and nan dada carried a pistol.

The adjacent day, Feb. 3 nan CPS worker stopped by nan location again, but it was locked. She past reportedly approached nan children astatine their school, but sewage nowhere.

‘She stated each nan children had refused to speak pinch her and told her that she was evil,’ nan serviceman wrote.

‘I told (the CPS worker) that location was not overmuch near we could do connected nan rule enforcement extremity of things,’ nan serviceman reported, and said nan worker besides ‘was going to proceed pinch her investigation and speak pinch her supervisor to fig retired what to do next.’

Within weeks, Lantz and Whitefeather put their location connected nan market.

‘That was why they exited successful nan mode successful which they did, because they knew they weren’t going to get a adjacent shake,’ Wise, nan realtor friend, told DailyMail.com.

‘The curen they sewage from nan authorities of Washington drove them out,’ he continued. ‘And nan past fewer times they were astatine Behavioral Health, Jeanne was fearful that they were going to return (her son) away, and she did not judge that was nan champion point for him. She conscionable wanted thief successful managing his unwellness truthful he could enactment pinch his family and enactment pinch his siblings.’

The CPS declined to remark erstwhile reached by DailyMail.com.

Okanogan County Sheriff Paul Budrow told DailyMail.com that he was ‘shocked’ to study done nan news media of nan couple’s apprehension successful West Virginia.

‘They were connected our radar, but not to nan level they conscionable sewage arrested for, that’s for sure,’ he said Wednesday.

The sheriff said that arsenic acold arsenic he knows, authorities successful West Virginia person yet to scope retired to section authorities to inquire astir nan family’s clip successful Tonasket, nevertheless he anticipates that mightiness hap arsenic nan lawsuit location progresses.

‘You would person assumed because of nan seriousness of nan crime that they mightiness telephone me,’ nan sheriff told DailyMail.com. 

‘But I ne'er sewage that call.’

He besides doesn’t cognize if kid use officials successful Washington shared immoderate accusation pinch their counterparts successful West Virginia erstwhile nan family moved.

‘If nan Okanogan Department of Children’s Services had an unfastened lawsuit and knew nan family moved to West Virginia, they should person passed that accusation connected to Children’s Services successful West Virginia to make judge that didn’t autumn done nan cracks.’

Still, Budrow defended his county’s actions successful dealing pinch Lantz and Whitefeather, stating, ‘A lawsuit for illustration this is nan logic they do what they do.’