UPDATE THU JAN 8, 2026
ORIGINAL PUBLISHED JAN 7, 2026

The Saline County Sheriff’s Office (SCSO) responded Wednesday morning January 7th, to a dog attack that injured a girl and her mother. Read more below about the attack and the dog owners.

The incident occurred in the Diamond Hills Cove area of Alexander. SCSO Deputies found that two individuals had sustained injuries from the attack that were not life-threatening, but serious enough to be transported to a hospital for treatment.

A family member told MySaline that the first victim is her niece, a young girl. “My niece is 12 and was walking to her bus stop when she was attacked,” stated Taylor Smith. “Thankfully she had on a backpack and baggy sweat pants or her situation would be much worse. I believe it saved her life.”

And then there was the second victim. “My sister came running to her rescue and got most of the injuries,” stated Smith. She went on to say her sister “was dragged down the street by the dogs.”

Smith said both the girl and her mother went to the emergency room for “multiple scrapes and wounds needing stitches, a bunch of bruising and swelling. One of the jaw lines in my sister’s thigh is almost as wide as my head!”

An on-scene investigation by SCSO led to the identification of the dogs’ owners. Authorities determined the dogs had not been properly confined, resulting in their escape and the attack.

The owners, now identified as Casey Jones and Alyssa Barnhart, were arrested. The Saline County Jail lists that Mr. Jones has current charges of Unlawful Dog Attack, as well as Assault In First Degree, Theft Of Property, and Unlaw Transfer Of Stolen Property To A Pawn Shop Or Pawnbroker.

The jail lists Ms. Barnhart with only two charges: Unlawful Dog Attack, and Assault In First Degree. The Sheriff’s Office stated that all three dogs involved were seized following the incident.

The case remains under investigation.

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