Polygamist with Northwest ties added to FBI Most Wanted List
 
By Melissa Luck
KXLY News 4 - Spokane, Washington & Northern Idaho
 
SPOKANE -- A polygamist and self-proclaimed prophet with ties to the Pacific Northwest has been added to the FBI’s Most Wanted List after he fled to avoid being prosecuted for having sex with a minor and rape as an accomplice for arranging marriages between his followers and teenaged girls.

Warren Jeffs leads a group called Fundamentalist Latter Day Saints which has followers in Arizona, Colorado, South Dakota, Texas and north of the Idaho border in Bountiful, British Columbia.

In Bountiful, BC several hundred people have lived their lives based on one principle that polygamy is the way to the celestial kingdom. Half of the people in Bountiful follow longtime leader Winston Blackmore while the other half of the community follows self-proclaimed prophet Warren Jeffs.

Jeffs has been charged with sexual conduct with a minor, conspiracy, unlawful flight to avoid proscution and, rape as an accomplice for arranging marriages between his followers and teenaged girls and the FBI is offering a $100,000 reward for information leading to his capture.

While Jeffs' preachings are heard in Bountiful and in other communities across the United States he hasn't been seen in public for two years. Some believe he's hiding out on a recently-built compound in El Dorado, Texas surrounded by armed body guards.

"I would say that twenty percent of the population ... are radical enough to take up arms and kill for him, no questions asked," ex-FLDS member Craig Chatwin said.

In Bountiful, BC Jeffs could take refuge with the several hundred people whose loyalties lie with Jeffs and believe he's a prophet that speaks for God. Others however believe communities and families will be torn apart until he's captured.

For most of her life, Jane Blackmore lived what the Fundamentalist Latter Day Saints call "The Principle" which was to share her husband with more than 20 other wives in Bountiful, BC.

However Blackmore left Bountiful about five years ago while her daughter Susie stayed in the community and married one of Warren Jeffs' followers in Colorado City, Arizona. Blackmore believed her daughter was living at Jeffs' compound in El Dorado, Texas and feared the worst.

"My concern is that there will be a mass suicide or some other ways that people will leave this earth," Blackmore said.

She still hasn't heard from her daughter and said Monday she believes Susie's family is on the move and the more erratic Jeffs' behavior becomes the more worried she is about her daughter and grandchildren. She hopes the capture of Warren Jeffs will bring her daughter home before it's too late.

Jeffs is described as being Caucasian, approximately 6’3” and weighs 150 lbs. with brown hair and eyes. If you happen to see Jeffs or know his whereabouts you're asked to contact the FBI or the nearest US Consulate immediately.
 
KXLY.com
Originally published May 8, 2006
 
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