Mourners remember 10-year-old Dakota Levi Stevens who died in foster care days after ‘medical emergency’

Through their tears, the family and loved ones of Dakota Levi Stevens spoke of a creative, smart boy who loved bugs, frogs and Legos, whose smile was incomparable and who would probably teach any adult he interacted with more than they ever could. to learn.

Dakota, 10, affectionately called Levi by his family, was remembered Monday during a private funeral service at Geisen Funeral Home in Crown Point.

“Despite all the hardships he went through, Levi was really optimistic,” said Jamie Constant, the pastor who led the memorial service.

Dakota died two days after police declared a “medical emergency” on April 25 at the foster home in the 200 block of Falcon Way in Liberty Township, where family and his former foster father believe he was there less than a week.

More than a hundred mourners filled the funeral home Monday morning, where an inflatable shark greeted attendees outside, a nod to another of his favorite creatures. Thomas the Tank Engine’s cars sat on tables at the funeral home, along with photos of him as a baby, and two large Lego replicas flanked his blue coffin.

‘He didn’t deserve this. He was better than a lot of people here,” Dakota’s aunt Nicole Rubalcava, who also works at Geisen, said at his funeral. “Even though he fought against things, this boy’s heart really wasn’t made for this world. He taught me so much, he really did, and I didn’t think a child could teach you stuff like that.

Logan Mills, Dakota’s cousin, and his former foster father, Hayden Hetzel, have said that Dakota and a younger sister were removed from their biological parents’ home because of their reported drug use. Their father died and their mother eventually relinquished parental rights. His sister was later adopted.

The Porter County Sheriff’s Office has released few details about the investigation and an autopsy report is not expected for several weeks, according to the St. Joseph County Coroner’s Office. The Sheriff’s Office is investigating.

Mourners wore white T-shirts with Dakota’s photo on the front with “Forever 10.” The back of the shirts read: ‘Loved beyond words, deeply missed.’

Along the memorial chapel, displays were plastered with photos of Dakota, depicting a boy whose large eyes were sometimes framed behind black-rimmed glasses. One display showed Dakota’s schoolwork, including something about crickets, which Dakota called the “best bug in the world.”

A yellow woven pot holder hung from the school display, which also contained an essay by Dakota entitled ‘I’m feeling 22’ and dated February 22, 2022.

“When I’m 22, I’m going to live with Mrs. Tarnowski, my favorite teacher who I love so much. I will be tall. I will have 100,000 frogs, a big leopard shark, 500 fish, 2 dogs and 1 cat. That’s what I want to be like when I’m 22 years old.”

Amber Tarnowski, Dakota’s elementary school teacher during the 2021-2022 school year when he was a second grader at Duneland schools, told those gathered for the funeral that the boy arrived in her classroom without any information or information. She only knew that he had been placed with a foster family after a traumatic experience.

“I quickly learned that Dakota was extraordinary,” she said of the boy who she said had “great emotions” and became her heart and soul that school year.

Dakota was always about honesty and respect, Tarnowski said, and while she taught him algebra, he taught everyone patience.

Tarnowski never let him use his past as an excuse, but told him he could talk to her about it.

“I’ve heard a lot of bad things about what happened to this child. He told me all about it, but it was never about his family,” she said. “Dakota was his own hero every day and the reason for that was the foundation from his family.”

Dakota also helped Tarnowski accept traumatic experiences in her life.

“I want you to know that he loved you every day, too,” she said.

Outside the funeral home, Melaina Blanchard of Highland cried before the service as she said Dakota had been her foster son for more than two years. Blanchard is Hetzel’s ex-girlfriend. Dakota first stayed with the couple at their Hammond home from 2019 to 2021, and again for a few weeks in November 2022.

“He was so nice. He had a beautiful laugh and a beautiful smile,” she said, adding that Dakota loved to dance.

Dakota was five when he arrived at Hetzel and Blanchard as a foster child.

“He was just a baby, but his personality was evident from the day we got him,” Blanchard said. ‘Despite all the trauma he had been through, he still managed to see the good in things. He was worried, he was hurt, but his soul was beautiful.”

A spokeswoman for the Department of Child Services said the Liberty Township foster parent where Dakota resided before his death “has been licensed since 2017 and was in good standing after completing the required training and education needed to obtain the license.” obtain and maintain’.

Foster parents must complete intensive training and education to obtain the license, which is re-examined each year to ensure the foster family continues to meet DCS requirements, including additional training each year to maintain this license, a spokesperson for the department in an email.

“The DCS policy also addresses termination of licensure, which includes circumstances where a foster parent or household member has been proven guilty of abuse or neglect,” he said.

Rubalcava, Dakota’s aunt, said the boy stayed with her for a while and that three days before he left her care, she sat him on her lap and asked him for a promise.

“Promise that when you get out of this system, I want you to tell me everything you make with your Legos,” she told him, and they touched their thumbs to seal the promise.

Rubalcava discovered that Dakota had died while at work, and cried in her car on the way home.

“He came back to me,” she told fellow mourners. “He left the system.”

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