Custer County Compound

By Matthew Holsen Keloland TV - Sioux Falls, SD

Warren Jeffs, the President of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, currently resides in Purgatory, a correctional facility just outside of Hurricane, Utah. He is awaiting trial on two felony charges of rape as an accomplice and is still having an effect in Keloland. A compound in Custer County once rumored to be a hideout for Jeffs is getting bigger. When Warren Jeffs was pulled over in Nevada in August, he was on the FBI's most wanted list. Jeffs was arrested on federal warrants and his case is proceeding through the court system. And while Warren Jeffs remains in custody, his community just twenty miles south of Custer, continues to grow. Custer County Sheriff Rick Wheeler is in charge of keeping track of changes at the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day saint's compound. Wheeler said, "I've made communications with them. We have a pretty good relationship as far as that goes. We monitor down here to a certain degree so we have a pretty good idea what's going on most of the time." The newest addition to the compound is a 22,000 square foot dormitory-style building to be used as a guest house. The estimated cost of materials for the project is more than a million dollars. Wheeler also said, "They came in and built a 22,000 square foot living quarter building up here and as you see put a watchtower up on top of the hill, which is new, in probably the last month or so." During our visit to the area, we could see people inside the tower, wearing dark hooded outfits and watching our every move. Custer County's Planning and Economic Office has no record of a building permit for the watchtower but doesn't have a problem with the building. Director of Equalization Les Struble is in charge of making sure building codes are being followed at the compound. Struble mentioned, "We have gone down to their property and reviewed their new construction for the purpose of property assessment and taxation." Struble didn't notice anything out of the ordinary during his visit. Struble said, "They've been very cordial and very accommodating and as far as I can tell they haven't treated me any different than any of the other places I've visited." Most people, including neighbors, just try to stay on the communities' good side. Wheeler replied, "Most of them want to get along with each other. The people down here in the colony are good to their neighbors. They plow their roads out, haul in gravel." Still, compound residents are rarely seen in Custer. Their home is in a remote area, twenty miles down a gravel road. But being so secluded doesn't affect the communities ability to survive. Wheeler said, "They support themselves pretty much as I know of. They have their own generator systems and so forth. They're self-efficient. They raise their own livestock and garden." The property also has its own wastewater system and wells, silos for food storage and coops, barns and stables for animals. It allows the FLDS followers to live in isolation from the rest of the world. And according to Struble and Wheeler, that is exactly what they want. Sheriff Wheeler will continue to contact members from the colony. He says Custer County wants to be able provide the community with assistance in case of an emergency like a fire.

keloland.com Originally published January 11, 2007

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