| Polygamist on the lam cashing in on friends' help Leads still slim after brother's Pueblo capture | |
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By Dave Curtin Denver Post Staff Writer | |
In the six months since fugitive polygamist leader Warren Jeffs was indicted by a grand jury for arranging an underage marriage, there have been few clues to his whereabouts. The best hint as to how he's living on the lam came in October 2005 when his brother, Seth, was pulled over by Pueblo County sheriff's deputies near Interstate 25 and U.S. 50. Seth Jeffs' vehicle was reportedly full of letters addressed to Warren Jeffs, $142,000 in cash and prepaid credit cards and cellphones. Seth Jeffs, 32, is to stand trial in U.S. District Court in Denver for harboring a fugitive. Warren Jeffs continues to elude a nationwide manhunt. "After the arrest in Colorado I thought we were close. I thought that would be our shoehorn to (Warren Jeffs)," said Brent Robbins, an FBI special agent in Salt Lake City. "I think it's safe to say he went farther underground." Warren Jeffs, 49, is the self-avowed "prophet" of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, the largest polygamist community in the West with 10,000 followers living in the twin cities of Colorado City, Ariz., and Hildale, Utah. The community settled there in 1920. It split from the mainstream Mormon church in 1890, when Mormons renounced polygamy. There also is a secluded FLDS property in Mancos in southwest Colorado that remains sparsely populated, plus communities in Eldorado, Texas - a headquarters where a gigantic temple and homes are being built on a 2,000-acre ranch - Galena, Mexico; and Bountiful, British Columbia. Among other things, FLDS members believe men with multiple wives will get to heaven as will the women who comply, said Gary Engels, a Colorado City-based district Lawmen and former community members suspect Jeffs is moving quickly between FLDS communities. Montezuma County sheriff's deputies are on the lookout for Warren Jeffs at the sect's Colorado compound. "We have no reason and have never had any reason to believe he is here," said Montezuma County Undersheriff David Hart. One of the last unconfirmed sightings of the 6-foot-4, 150-pound Warren Jeffs came Oct. 23. He was reportedly in a wheelchair fishing at a reservoir 55 miles southeast of Salt Lake City, said FBI agent Robbins. "We used to say many leads are coming in, but now we say they are few and far between," Robbins said. So, when Seth Jeffs was stopped near Pueblo on Oct. 28, authorities saw it as a huge break in the case. Seth Jeffs told authorities he was a messenger for the church and was carrying "gifts and well wishes for the prophet." He said he was traveling from church headquarters in Hildale, Utah, to Eldorado, Texas. "It would be stupid to tell anyone where (Warren Jeffs) is because he would get caught," Seth Jeffs told an FBI agent, according to court documents. Seth Jeff's attorney, Dan Smith of Denver, said it would be "inappropriate to comment at this time." "The arrest of his brother gives us some information as to how Warren Jeffs is traveling," said Andrea Esquer, spokeswoman for Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard. "The arrest was a gold mine for us," said investigator Engels. "And it puts out the message to the rest of his people that this is not a game. But it also plays into their beliefs. The more persecuted you are, the more glorified you are." Warren Jeffs was indicted on charges of arranging a marriage of a 16-year-old girl and a 48-year-old married man. He began arranging the marriages of girls in the community at progressively younger ages in recent years, said Carolyn Jessop, 38, born into polygamy six generations ago and herself married in an arranged union at 18 to a 50-year-old man. "It was always part of the culture to marry at 18, sometimes early 20s. Warren began marrying them at 13 and 14," said Jessop, who fled 2 1/2 years ago. Colorado Attorney General John Suthers says he's been comparing notes on Warren Jeffs with his counterparts in Arizona and Utah. "We know from his brother that there are people helping him," Arizona's Esquer said. "I think they are passing Jeffs around pretty well. He is taken in by members and hidden from the public," Mansfield said. "From all accounts, he's doing well, with lots of cash being passed to him." Staff writer Dave Curtin can be reached at 303-820-1276 or dcurtin@denverpost.com. | |
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DenverPost.com Originally published January 20, 2006 | |
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