Toddler in Critically Unstable Condition After Incident at Indiana Campground; Dad, Girlfriend Arrested

An Indiana couple has been arrested after a hospital called police and reported a 3-year-old with critical injuries inconsistent with the story told by the child’s father and girlfriend.

Derek Pierce, 31, and Dakota McHenry, 25, have been charged with neglect of an infant causing serious bodily injury and obstruction of justice; Pierce also faces a charge of domestic battery to a child less than 14 years of age causing serious bodily injury, according to WANE.

Pierce and McHenry brought the toddler to Cameron Hospital in Angola Friday night, WOWO reported. The hospital initially contacted police in Kendallville, Pierce’s address, but their investigation determined that the child’s injuries happed at the HI-VUE campground near Lake Gage in unincorporated Steuben County.

No other information was released.

They’re now being held without bond at the Steuben County Jail.

The toddler was taken to a hospital in Fort Wayne and is listed in critically unstable condition.

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[Featured image: Derek Pierce and Dakota McHenry/Steuben County Sheriff’s Office]