Three children who mysteriously disappeared more than two years ago have been found alive in a small, unassuming desert town just south of the Arizona-Utah border.
The children strangely disappeared from their home in Beaver County, Utah two years ago, in October 2022, sparking a years-long search that has finally come to an end.
A tip received by local police in late August alerted officials to the possible whereabouts of the children.
At the time, police believed the children’s father may have orchestrated “the disappearance and subsequent absconding” of his three children.
The missing children have now later been discovered in Fredonia, Arizona, a small desert town less than five miles from the Arizona-Utah border, in the care of their grandmother.
Upon further investigation, Fredonia police revealed that the children had been deliberately hidden from the rest of the world as family members helped conceal their location.
The unnamed children’s grandmother and aunt have both been arrested in connection with the 2022 disappearance. Meanwhile, their father remains at large.
Three Utah children missing since 2022 have been found alive and reportedly returned to their mother
The missing children were later discovered in Fredonia, Arizona, a small desert town less than five miles from the Arizona-Utah border, while in the care of their grandmother.
The children were believed to be living with the Fundamentalist Church of Latter-day Saints, a religious movement often compared to a cult for its involvement in various illegal activities, including child marriage, child abandonment, sexual assault and human trafficking. Pictured: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Fredonia, Arizona
The children were believed to be living with the Fundamentalist Church of Latter-day Saints, a religious movement often compared to a cult for its involvement in various illegal activities, including child marriage, child abandonment, sexual assault and human trafficking.
A department news release said that in a joint effort, both Arizona and Utah law enforcement agencies were able to free the children on September 1.
The children have now returned to their mother.
“The Fredonia Police Department would like to thank everyone involved for their assistance,” the news release said. “As of today, the children are safe with their mother while this investigation continues.”
The quaint northern Arizona town known as the gateway to the Grand Canyon’s North Rim has a population of just 1,203, according to the United States Census Bureau.
A former member of the Fundamentalist Church of Latter-day Saints previously shared what life is like in a commune affiliated with the Latter-day Saints.
In December, a married couple, Sam and Melissa, from Hilldale, Utah, opened up to popular YouTube creator Peter Santanello to discuss their experiences growing up within the religion.
The couple told Santanello that they had grown up under the rule of Warren Jeffs’ polygamous Mormon sect, where girls could be married off as young as fourteen and “men lived in fear.”
Sam exposed the truth about the pervasive control within the church and discussed the intimidation tactics used to spread fear among members.
Popular YouTube creator Peter Santanello met with former members of the Fundamentalist Latter Day Saints Church (FLDS) in Hildale, Utah. In the photo: married couple Sam and Melissa talk to the popular YouTuber
Sam exposed the truth about the pervasive control within the church and revealed the intimidation tactics used to spread fear among members
He began by explaining that he was raised by his three mothers in a trailer, where dozens of children lived at once – all his brothers and sisters.
He said, ‘MYour mother was the second wife. That’s a really interesting story about how the women got along and all, but my mother was the second and I am about her middle child, she had 12 children.
‘I have a total of 36 brothers and sisters.’
He explained birth control was ‘completely against the rules’ and all that “The sexual stuff was therefore taboo.’
‘MThe arrivals were all arranged and were entirely dependent on what Warren Jeffs decided at the time – If someone deserved another woman, if they were righteous enough, then that was their business,” Sam explained.
The former member said this often meant people were ‘forced’ into marriage – including girls as young as 14 to older men.
Melissa explained: ‘Most men in the community are assigned their wives and when the prophet says this is your new wife, she’s 14, are you going to look him in the eye and say, ‘well, I don’t want a 14-year-old’?
“He’s going to look at you and say you’re wondering what God wants for you. God told me that this 14 year old is meant to be your fourth wife. Are you telling me you don’t trust God?
“And that’s what these guys are dealing with and who’s going to question that authority in that sense?”
She continued: ‘The women can be in situations where they are oppressed or in circumstances where there is abuse or other things that can happen – but the men can also be victims and I think we often overlook that.
In 2011, Jeffs, who had an estimated 85 wives, was sent away for life after being convicted of two child sexual abuse offenses for having sex with girls aged 12 and 14.
Jeffs, who had an estimated 85 wives (pictured), caused FLDS members to live in fear
“We don’t think about the pressure this man has to live perfectly and if his family isn’t perfect, and if his wives aren’t perfect, and if his children aren’t perfect, if anything in his life and household is either.” If he’s not perfect, he could lose everything.”
Sam confirmed, “It became common for Warren Jeffs to just kick people out of the community—claiming they’ve done something bad, saying they’re not worth being here anymore.
“He would force them out and that would free up a lot of space for women to pass on to other men.”
He continued, “Men lived in constant fear that if I don’t obey perfectly, this will happen to me and I’ll be gone.
“He set an example to many people by instilling fear in other members of the Church.”
Warren Jeffs has since been serving life in prison for two felony counts of child sex abuse.