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CEDAR CITY — A group of parents, who were once part of the Fundamentalist Latter-day Saint Church community, gathered to ask for helping finding their missing children. They believe those children have been assisted in running away by those loyal to convicted felon, the jailed Warren Jeffs.
The parents voiced their concerns to law enforcement and the community to ask for help finding their children. The group Holding Out Help, that organized the press conference, said it knows of 19 children who have gone missing, with nine of those found. The group blames the missing children on purported orders from Jeffs, who is in prison in Texas but still has powerful influence over his followers.
"I am their only legal guardian," said Lorraine Jessop, referring to her three children who she says have been kidnapped. "I have sole custody. Their father is deceased. When will this be treated as what it is?"
She said they have been missing since January, and she believes they had help leaving in the middle of the night.
"We need to take this more seriously in Utah and in surrounding states," said Roger Hoole, an attorney representing the parents. "We're asking to get the message out that we need help. We need law enforcement help. We need to make this a priority to help find these children."
The parents who have left the polygamous group said the missing kids grew up in a sheltered environment and couldn't have run away on their own. They allege that the children were provided prepaid phones and survival gear by loyal Jeffs followers.
Elizabeth Roundy, a parent from Idaho, said her daughter took her car and left in the middle of the night at the start of the year. Police told her they don't do a lot with a runaway case.
"I've tried to explain to them that this is not just her running away; they're hiding her. She was told what to do, where to go. It has been a completely manipulated situation, I believe, with all of the children that are missing," Roundy said.
Hoole said there are often parenting conflicts when one parent leaves the FLDS community.
"Rather than let the law provide those rules so that parents can work together for the protection of their children, we're seeing the children disappear from the non-FLDS parent," Hoole said. "They're disappearing."
Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes addressed the issue in a statement Monday night:
"The Utah Attorney General's Office continues to monitor this situation closely, working with Beaver County who has initiated an investigation.
"We take threats against anyone in Utah very seriously. Our office has historically played a significant role in holding Warren Jeffs — and members of his family who have broken the law — accountable, and we don't plan on stopping anytime soon."
Contributing: Larry D. Curtis
