March 9, 2006
By Nancy Perkins
Deseret Morning News
Photo: FLDS "prophet" Warren Jeffs was indicted last Thursday by Mohave County grand jurors on two felony counts: Sexual Conduct with a Minor and Conspiracy to Commit Sexual Conduct with a Minor. An arrest warrant was issued for Jeffs, but lawmen in Utah, Arizona, Colorado and Texas don't seem to know where he is. And, it is unlikely that Jeffs will surrender himself to authorities.
ST. GEORGE — The editor of a Texas newspaper said Wednesday he has confirmed that a previously unknown compound built on 100 acres in South Dakota belongs to followers of the fugitive polygamous leader Warren Jeffs.
Graphic: An estimated 10,000 FLDS members are scattered throughout the nation, in Canada and Mexico, although the vast majority live in Hildale, Washington County, and Colorado City, Ariz. (Deseret Morning News)
"We got an anonymous e-mail tip and phone call that made us look at South Dakota," said Randy Mankin, publisher and editor of the Eldorado Success, a weekly newspaper in Schleicher County, Texas, that first broke a similar story about Jeffs buying property in the rural Texas county nearly two years ago. "We worked on this story for a month and a half and felt pretty sure we had it nailed down."
The South Dakota property is about 10 miles outside the town of Pringle in Custer County, according to a story in today's edition of the Eldorado Success newspaper and which was on its Web site, myeldorado.net, Wednesday.
"It didn't take long to recognize the people and the buildings as the same kind that are here in Eldorado," said Mankin.
Photo: Small portion of 1,400 acres FLDS compound in Texas dominated by
concrete All Seeing Eye Temple at the top. Various construction projects are in progress.
A Mohave County, Ariz., grand jury indicted Jeffs last year on charges involving sexual misconduct with a minor. Jeffs is accused of performing a marriage with an underage girl and a man who was already married. The FBI is offering a $60,000 reward for information leading to Jeffs' arrest and conviction.
When FLDS agent David Allred first purchased more than 1,400 acres outside of Eldorado in Schleicher County, he told local civic leaders the land would be used for a hunting retreat. Allred eventually told authorities the land would really be used as a retreat for faithful members of the FLDS church. That property became known as the YFZ Ranch, which stands for the title of a song written by Jeffs called "Yearn For Zion."
Allred is apparently also behind the purchase of the South Dakota property, according to the Eldorado Success. That connection and other similarities prompted Mankin to ask private investigator Sam Brower to investigate the South Dakota property.
Photo: All Seeing Eye Temple, front view.
During an interview televised Wednesday on KCSG-TV's 9 p.m. newscast in St. George, Brower said he is convinced Jeffs is using the property as a "hideout."
"It's in a remote location," said Brower. "I would guess there are about 50 to 60 people living there. I think the fact that we know about it will be a big blow to them, mostly because they've gone to great lengths to hide it and have spent a lot of money on it."
Brower said the site includes three main buildings, including one steel structure that measures over 12,000 square feet. Two three-story buildings are an estimated 5,000 square feet each, with a couple of smaller buildings nearby, he said.
KSL-TV Ch. 5 also interviewed Brower, who said Jeffs has reportedly been seen at the South Dakota complex. "I think he has been there — I think he has probably been there regularly," he said.
Photo: View of a few of numerous sizeable homes dotting the compound. Each
is large enough for one husband, his 3 wives and all of their various children.
Members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, which teaches plural marriage as a central doctrine, consider Jeffs a prophet. An estimated 10,000 FLDS members are scattered throughout the nation, in Canada and Mexico, although the vast majority live in Hildale, Washington County, and Colorado City, Ariz.
http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,635190438,00.html
photos of FLDS compound, Eldorado