People are disappearing in North America's largest polygamist community
 
By Brent Hunsaker
ABC 4
Colorado City at night

There's a strange thing happening in the polygamist communities of Hildale and Colorado City. People are disappearing.

Isaac Wyler, an agent for the UEP trust which owns most of the land in the twin towns, says it happens in the middle of the night. Semis pull up to a house and empty it's contents. Before the sun comes up, the contents and the people are gone. "They could be out of a house in less than two hours," says Wyler. That's incredible considering some of those houses can have as many as 30 bedrooms. He says, "they have huge crews. It's amazing. It's actually fun to watch them."

So far 10 homes and 1 apartment have been emptied this way. When this exodus started a few weeks ago, Wyler had to guess which houses were abandoned. Now the people are taping notes to the door and even leaving the keys in the locks. It is a thoughtful gesture considering they are leaving the homes in the hands of the UEP which is now in the hands of a court-appointed special fiduciary -- an outsider.

Once Wyler identifies an abandoned house, he enters, takes inventory and does a quick inspection. Some are still unfinished, but most of the houses are left in reasonable shape. These homes will be sold to anyone interested -- with priority given to former residents of Colorado City and Hildale.

As for the families that have disappeared, most are close relatives of polygamist prophet Warren Jeffs. Where they've gone is anyone's guess. "My guess is that they're moving to compounds that haven't been found yet," says Wyler. "I don't think they're going to Texas. There's not much happening there right now." Warren Jeffs is believed to have compounds not only in Texas and Utah, but also Nevada, Colorado and South Dakota. There are bound to be others as well.

Perhaps more troubling than where they are going is why they are going. A few former members of the polygamist community believe it's an apocalyptic conspiracy. They fear Jeffs has something sinister in store for the towns -- punishment for the rebellious and the less faithful who remain.

But private investigator Sam Brower has a much more pragmatic -- and less sinister -- explanation. Brower has been following Warren Jeffs and the FLDS Church for more than a decade. He knows the inner workings of that closed society better than any other outsider. His take: With Warren Jeff's in jail and a growing number of subpoenas and summons flying around the community, the Jeffs family is feeling the heat. So, they're going into hiding. Brower said, "It's a conspiracy for the more elite to avoid answering for their wrongdoings. There's a certain amount of fear on their part."

Whatever the reason for the exodus, the void it creates will assuredly be filed by people who Warren Jeffs kicked out. And by their return the former capital of the FLDS empire will be transformed. Less monolithic. More open. If the exodus of the "Warrenites" continues, the dynamics of these two towns will slowly change.

brent@abc4.com
 
ABC4.com
Originally published December 16, 2006
 
Back