Authorities made a startling discovery. Three children who disappeared mysteriously two years ago are actually alive. They've been living in a small desert town near the border of Utah and Arizona.
It's been over two years since the children disappeared. They vanished from their Utah home in October 2022. For years, authorities have been baffled about what happened to the children. However, a tipster cued police off to the fact that the children were living in Fredonia, Arizona. Authorities believe that their father may have "orchestrated the disappearance and subsequent hiding" of the children.
Rather than living with a stranger, the three children have ben living with their grandmother in the town. Authorities found that members of the family have concealed their disappearance from the rest of the family as well as authorities. They've since arrested both the grandmother as well an aunt in their disappearance.
However, they still haven't been able to locate the children's father. They've been living as part of the Fundamentalist Latter-day Saint church. It's a controversial organization linked to various illegal activities. In September, authorities were able to rescue the children and return them to their mother.
Children Found
"The Fredonia Police Department would like to thank all involved for their assistance," the release stated. "As of today, the children are safe with their mother as this investigation continues."
Previously, married couple, Sam and Melissa, opened up about the abuse within the religious organization. They said that women were married as young as 14. They also have several spouses in the religion.
Sam said, "My mom was the second wife. That's a whole interesting story about how the wives got along and all of that - but my mom was the second and I am about the middle child of hers she had 12 kids. I have 36 siblings altogether."
He also added, "Marriages were all arranged and completely dependent on what Warren Jeffs decided at the moment - if someone deserved another wife, if they were righteous enough, it was up to him."
Meanwhile, Melissa explained, "Most of the men in the community they're assigned their wives and if the prophet says here's 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 so your questioning 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 men are dealing with and so who's going to question that authority in that sense."
