Colorado City buildings disappear
 
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Tri-State News Network
 
COLORADO CITY, Ariz. – The special investigator Mohave County has assigned to Colorado City questions whether leaders in the polygamous northern Arizona community and the neighboring town of Hilldale in Utah quickly violated court orders issued May 27.

Gary Engels said the dismantling and removal of two buildings might fly in the face of the judicial decree.

District Judge Robert W. Adkins issued a restraining order temporarily freezing the assets of the United Effort Plan (UEP), a church-controlled trust with an estimated value of $100-million. Many homes, businesses and other assets in Colorado City and Hilldale are tied up in the trust.

Judge Adkins removed church leader Warren Jeffs and five others as trustees, placing the trust under temporary management by an accountant, pending further court proceedings.

Engels said crews were tearing down a business on UEP property in Hilldale the day after the court order was issued. He said the Cozy Log sold materials used for cabin construction from a steel building 100 ft. wide and 220 ft. long.

"They dismantled it in about 30 hours and hauled it away," Engels said. "That building sits on UEP property and now UEP property is controlled by the courts and not by the UEP."

Engels said another building disappeared over the weekend in Colorado City.

"They just jack hammered the foundation right out from under that thing, backed something under it and hauled it off," Engels said.

He said a videotape capturing some of the dismantling activity is being provided to the Attorney General's offices in both Arizona and Utah.

Andrea Esquer, spokeswoman for Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard said she had no comment on Engel's revelations. She did note, however, that attorneys will be back in court June 6 when Judge Adkins will revisit his restraining order ruling.

Engels said the court order, preceded by recent seizure of financial records from the business offices of the Colorado City Unified School District, has created anxiety in the border communities.

"The people are sitting on edge now not knowing what's going to happen next," Engels said.

Engels said he's also growingly concerned for his personal safety now that he's spent a number of months investigating various allegations in Colorado City and Hilldale.

"It's been very interesting because I'm mostly alone up here," Engels said. "I have to be very careful up here because they're getting more hostile with all that's going on."
 
Tri-State News Network
Originally published June 2, 2005
 
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