A 31-year-old man named Austin Hendrick has been accused of child abuse without injury after a 15-month-old baby in his care was discovered in a ditch covered in insect bites. The incident occurred on October 4, 2025, when a concerned citizen reported seeing the child in a ditch along a road. Upon arrival, the police found the child in the arms of a truck driver, who reported the child had insect bites, a full diaper, and a rash but was otherwise in good health. The child was taken to a nearby hospital for evaluation.
Shortly after, another witness contacted the police to report a call they had received from Hendrick, claiming he was looking for a missing child he had been babysitting. When questioned by investigators, Hendrick stated that he believed someone had taken the child from his home, located about a mile and a half from where she was found. He mentioned that he had gone to feed his dogs and returned to find the front door open and the child gone.
The incident occurred on South Marian Road in rural Adams County, just outside Hastings, a medium-sized city about 110 miles southwest of Lincoln, US. Law enforcement has chosen not to disclose any details about the child for privacy reasons.
In a separate case, Jeanne Kay Whitefeather and her husband Donald Lantz were found guilty of forcing their adopted children to endure harsh conditions, including standing for hours and sleeping on concrete floors. Whitefeather received a sentence of up to 215 years, while Lantz was sentenced to up to 60 years after being convicted of multiple charges of forced labor, human trafficking, and child abuse and neglect. Additionally, Whitefeather was convicted of civil rights violations based on race. The judge criticized the couple during sentencing for their actions and lack of remorse, stating that they had brought their children to a place of torment. The judge sentenced them to serve their time in prison and emphasized that the court would not show mercy.