Mormon Fundamentalist Group Found in Arizona as Authorities Recover Missing Children

The mother of three children has been reunited with her children in Utah after more than two years of separation. Authorities located the children in Fredonia, Arizona, approximately four hours from their home in American Fork, Utah. The children had been missing since October 2022, according to reports. Authorities allege the father orchestrated the children’s disappearance and hid them with the assistance of family members from the Fundamentalist Latter-Day Saint (FLDS) faith.

In late August 2024, Fredonia Police Chief Jason Peterson received information about the children’s whereabouts. He coordinated with multiple 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 were reportedly overseeing the children. However, the father remains at large. “It was very short, very quick,” said Fredonia police officer Andrew Smith. “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.”

The operation was described as a swift and coordinated effort to ensure the children’s safe return to their mother. “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,” Smith added.

Newsweek reached out to the responding agencies for further details. “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 stated.

The Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS) is a religious group that broke away from the mainstream Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) in the 1950s. The FLDS is known for its strict adherence to polygamy and has faced legal challenges in the United States. The group has been the subject of various investigations and legal actions over the years, including allegations of child abuse and forced marriages. The FLDS has also been linked to several high-profile cases, including the 2008 kidnapping of children in Texas, which led to the arrest of several members of the group.

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