After more than two years of separation, a mother is finally reunited with her three children in Utah.
Authorities successfully recovered the children, originally from American Fork, Utah, in a small town about four hours away on the Arizona border in Fredonia.
Authorities allege the father orchestrated the children's disappearance and hid them with the help of family members from the Fundamentalist Latter-Day Saint (FLDS) faith.
How Were The Children Found?
In late August 2024, Fredonia Police Chief Jason Peterson received information about the whereabouts of three minor children who had been missing since October 2022.
According to a press release from the Fredonia Police Department released on Wednesday, Chief Peterson coordinated with department members and various agencies, including the Coconino County Sheriff's Office, Kanab City Police Department, Kane County Sheriff's Office, Kane County SWAT, Washington County Sheriff's Office, and Homeland Security, to plan and execute the retrieval of the missing children.
On September 1, officers located the minors and returned them to their mother. Responding agencies arrested the children's grandmother and aunt, who appeared to be overseeing the children. However, they are still searching for the father.
"It was very short, very quick," Fredonia police officer Andrew Smith said of the operation to KSTU. "So, that's just how that works. It's not necessarily the FLDS group, but anybody gets wind that there's more than just the normal force in town, especially in a small town like this, things start to move.
"It feels good to be able to actually get them and get them back to the parent that they belong to. That's why we're out here."
Newsweek reached out to the responding agencies.
"Due to the sensitive nature of this ongoing investigation involving minor children, certain information is, and will continue to be, withheld to protect the innocent," the press release read.
What is the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints?
The FLDS is a religious group breaking away from the mainstream Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, also known as the Mormon Church, over doctrinal differences.
The FLDS has sparked controversy due to its practices, particularly polygamy and its control over members' lives. Many former members have criticized the group for its authoritarian leadership, isolationist practices, and abuses within the community.
One of the most famous leaders of the FLDS was Warren Jeffs, until his arrest and conviction on charges related to sexual abuse, child sexual assault and arranging marriages for underage girls. Authorities sentenced Jeffs to life in prison in 2011.
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