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West Virginia mother on trial for locking adopted teenagers in shed denies allegations

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West Virginia mother on trial for locking adopted teenagers in shed denies allegations


A West Virginia mother denied forcing two of their adopted children to stay in a shed despite police finding them there behind a locked door.

Jeanne Kay Whitefeather testified Tuesday in the second week of the trial against her and her husband, Donald Ray Lantz. The pair allegedly mistreated four of the five children, all of whom are black. Whitefeather and Lantz, who are white, each face several felony counts, including forced labor, civil rights violations, human trafficking and gross child neglect.

Whitefeather and Lantz were arrested in October 2023 when neighbors reported that they observed Lantz locking two teenagers — a girl and a boy — in the shed and leaving the property in Sissonville, West Virginia.

Whitefeather claimed the shed was a “teenager hangout.”

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WEST VIRGINIA MAN, WOMAN ARRESTED AFTER TEENS FOUND LOCKED IN SHED

Defendants Donald Lantz and Jeanne Whitefeather enter Kanawha Circuit Court Judge Maryclaire Akers’ courtroom for the first day of their trial, Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025, in Charleston, West Virginia, following jury selection. (AP)

“They weren’t locked in,” Whitefeather testified. “They had a key. They could come and go as they pleased.”

But the oldest daughter, now 18, testified last week that she was unaware of access to a key. A detective had testified earlier that a key was found out of sight on top of a cabinet in the shed.

The girl also said the children were given peanut butter sandwiches at scheduled times and were not allowed to eat outside those times, regardless of whether they were hungry.

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Donald Ray Lantz, left, and Jeanne Kay Whitefeather are shown during a break in the Kanawha County Circuit Court on the first day of their trial in Charleston, West Virginia, Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025. (AP)

Whitefeather claims the children were allowed to use the refrigerator and that she cooked every night.

After the couple was arrested, the five children were placed under the care of Child Protective Services.

WV LAWMAKER ARRESTED AFTER ALLEGEDLY THREATENING TO KILL ENTIRE REGION’S DELEGATION OVER CAUCUS BEEF

Donald Lantz and Jeanne Whitefeather are on trial for child neglect after children were found locked in a shed. (West Virginia Regional Jail & Correctional Facility Authority)

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The pair adopted the five siblings while living in Minnesota. They then moved to a farm in Washington state in 2018 before moving to West Virginia in 2023, at which time the children ranged in age from five to 16.

The oldest boy is receiving full-time care in a psychiatric facility.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.



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West Virginia

West Virginia Lottery results: See winning numbers for Mega Millions, Daily 3 on March 6, 2026

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The results are in for the West Virginia Lottery’s draw games on Friday, March 6, 2026.

Here’s a look at winning numbers for each game on March 6.

Winning Mega Millions numbers from March 6 drawing

08-19-26-38-42, Mega Ball: 24

Check Mega Millions payouts and previous drawings here.

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Winning Daily 3 numbers from March 6 drawing

9-9-6

Check Daily 3 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Daily 4 numbers from March 6 drawing

6-9-5-6

Check Daily 4 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Cash 25 numbers from March 6 drawing

05-13-16-19-23-25

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Check Cash 25 payouts and previous drawings here.

Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results

When are the West Virginia Lottery drawings held?

  • Powerball: 11 p.m. ET on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
  • Mega Millions: 10:59 p.m. ET Tuesday and Friday.
  • Lotto America: 10:15 p.m. ET on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
  • Daily 3, 4: 6:59 p.m. ET Monday through Saturday.
  • Cash 25: 6:59 p.m. ET Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday.

This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a USA Today editor. You can send feedback using this form.



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DNR Releases total deer whitetail numbers for 2025, down significantly from 2024 – WV MetroNews

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DNR Releases total deer whitetail numbers for 2025, down significantly from 2024 – WV MetroNews


DNR PRESS RELEASE

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The West Virginia Division of Natural Resources (WVDNR) today announced that hunters harvested 92,553 white-tailed deer during the 2025-2026 seasons, which is a 17 percent decrease from the 2024 deer harvest of 111,646 and 14 percent below the 5-year average of 107,434.

This year’s decreased harvest was caused by an increase in hard mast production, which often results in decreased harvests due to the difficulty of tracking and targeting game species spread out over a landscape. Several counties also experienced an outbreak of hemorrhagic disease, which likely impacted hunter success, especially in the western part of the state.

According to preliminary numbers collected through the WVDNR’s electronic game checking system, hunters harvested 33,823 bucks during the traditional buck firearm season, 25,453 antlerless deer during all antlerless firearm hunting opportunities, 29,654 deer during the urban and regular archery/crossbow seasons, 3,102  deer during the muzzleloader season and 501 deer during the Mountaineer Heritage season.

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Click here to download county-by-county 2025-2026 deer harvest numbers.

Antlerless Deer Season 
Hunters harvested 25,453 deer during the 2025 antlerless deer season, which includes the youth, class Q and Class XS deer season. The harvest was a 23 percent decrease compared to the 2024 harvest of 33,057 and 13 percent below the 5-year average of 29,303. The top ten counties for antlerless deer harvests were Preston (1,442), Upshur (907), Greenbrier (877), Monroe (876), Mason (841), Lewis (836), Hardy (775), Randolph (774), Barbour (695) and Braxton (680).

Archery and Crossbow Deer Seasons
Hunters harvested 29,654 deer during the 2025 archery and crossbow season. The 2025 harvest was an 8 percent decrease over the 2024 harvest of 32,240 and 5 percent below the 5-year average of 31,139. The proportion of the archery harvest taken using a crossbow has stabilized and was greater than deer reportedly taken by a bow.

The archery and crossbow harvest does not include the 29 deer taken with recurve or longbows during the Mountaineer Heritage season. The top ten counties for archery and crossbow deer harvests were Preston (1,573), Raleigh (1,378), Wyoming (1,224), Kanawha (1,045), Fayette (1,032), Mercer (892), Nicholas (889), McDowell (876), Randolph (860) and Monongalia (842).

Muzzleloader Deer Season
Hunters harvested 3,102 deer during the 2025 muzzleloader season, which was 26 percent less than the 2024 harvest of 4,173 and 22 percent below the 5-year average of 3,979. The muzzleloader deer season harvest does not include the 472 deer taken with side lock and flintlock muzzleloaders during the Mountaineer Heritage season. The top ten counties for muzzleloader deer harvests were Nicholas (186), Preston (179), Randolph (158), Greenbrier (131), Upshur (115), Fayette (111), Raleigh (95), Mason (93), Barbour (90) and Kanawha (88).

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University, Ripley out to early leads at state wrestling – WV MetroNews

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University, Ripley out to early leads at state wrestling – WV MetroNews


— Story by David Walsh, Photo gallery by Will Wotring

HUNTINGTON, W.Va.Divisions I and II are going as expected after Thursday night’s opening round in the 78th West Virginia High School State Wrestling Tournament at Mountain Health Network Arena. University, seeking a third straight large school title, and Parkersburg found themselves in the top two in the standings on a night dominated by pins as No. 1 seeds would beat up on No. 4 seeds.

University started the event minus two competitors. One did not make weight and the other, who won a state title a year ago, is not competing as he’s recovering from a football injury.

One competitor delivering big for the Hawks is Maximus Fortier, a junior who transferred in from Fairmont Senior. While there, he won the state title as a freshman at 144 with a final record of 41-1. He competes at 165 now and is 36-2 after winning with a first-round pin Thursday night.

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“Come down, support the team and try to win,” Fortier said of his battle plan. “Wrestle the way we know how.”

Fortier and the Hawks won the Ron Mauck OVAC title, the WSAZ Invitational and West Virginia Duals during the season. He competed in two major tournaments as well. He went 2-2 in the Ironman and won his weight class in the Powerade Tournament which attracts the top teams in the nation.

“Wasn’t ready,” he said about the Ironman. “Did my thing at Powerade. It was big.”

Fortier said support at his new school grows every day.

“They treat me like family,” he said.

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Strategy for the State Tournament is simple.

“Wrestle the way we know how to wrestle,” Fortier said.

University capitalized on a strong finish in the heavier weights and leads with 47 points. Parkersburg, which finished second here last year, trails with 39.5. Cabell Midland is third with 37.5 and Huntington fourth with 32.5.

Ripley is in year two in Division II. The Vikings placed sixth a year ago. They came to town as the Region 4 winner and qualified 11 with nine taking first and the other two second. Ripley leads after Thursday with 38 points thanks to wins by pin or major fall. Independence is second with 27 and Keyser third with 25.5. Cameron is the leader in Division III with 16 points.

The tournament continues Friday with sessions at 11:30 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. On Saturday, the girls have their state with action starting at 8 a.m. The boys begin at 10:30.

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Championship finals are Saturday night at 6:30. Wrestlers are now seeded prior to the tournament and the pill breaks deadlocks.

During the season, Ripley won the West Virginia Duals, beat Herbert Hoover twice, Point Pleasant and also got wins over Parkersburg South and Huntington.



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