by: JonChristopher Collins
Four Stone County residents are now charged after their arrests for child endangerment late last year.
On Nov. 6, 2020 a call was made to Stone County Central Dispatch that led to the arrest of Dessa Barton, William (Dalton) Mclendon, Katherine Kost and Richard Hilliker. According to the Stone County Jail Roster, the defendants are currently booked in the Stone County Jail on separate $50,000 bonds.
According to a release from Stone County Sheriff Doug Rader in November published by the Branson Tri-Lakes News, the 911 call made led medical personnel and law enforcement to a residence State Highway K where they found a four-year-old boy unresponsive. The child was then transported by ambulance to CoxSouth hospital in Springfield and later air-lifted to Kansas City in critical condition.