| Is Jeffs hiding in Texas? Shurtleff, others discuss ways to track down fugitive FLDS leader | ||
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By Ben Winslow Deseret Morning News | ||
Utah and Texas authorities are exploring new ways of finding proof that fugitive polygamist leader Warren Jeffs has been hiding out at the Fundamentalist LDS Church's massive temple site in Eldorado, Texas. "He's got how many thousand acres down there and a sheriff that says he's not going to go in?" Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff told the Deseret Morning News. "I think he travels around absolutely. It's a place he goes for refuge. My question is, what are you doing to get probable cause?" But the sheriff of the tiny Texas town said he doesn't have any proof the FLDS leader has been there lately — and that's why he can't go in and search the sprawling ranch. "No doubt at some point he's been out there," said Schleicher County Sheriff David Doran. "But no evidence that he has been out there recently." Shurtleff met briefly with his counterparts in Texas and Canada earlier this month while at a conference in Alaska. He said they discussed new ways to track down the fugitive FLDS leader. The Texas Attorney General's Office declined to comment about any plans to develop more proof that Jeffs has been there. "Mr. Jeffs is on the FBI's Most Wanted list, and because of this, we want to do all we can to work with local, state and federal authorities to help resolve the matter," said Tom Kelley, a spokesman for Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott. "As to specifics about resources devoted to any particular aspect of it, we cannot comment." Shurtleff thinks more resources can be devoted to the manhunt for Jeffs. Utah's attorney general suggested pushing the FBI and U.S. Marshal's Service to use satellite surveillance on the YFZ ranch to look for vehicles that may be traveling in convoy. The FBI's Salt Lake City office declined to comment on what the agency is doing to develop information about Jeffs' whereabouts. "I cannot speak with any specificity to probable cause or the lack thereof," said FBI Special Agent Jan Caldwell. In an interview last week with the Deseret Morning News, Shurtleff said he believes Jeffs has been moving between FLDS enclaves on the Utah-Arizona border, Texas and Canada. "He seems to be getting word out to his people," Shurtleff said. "He seems to still be saying, 'I'm in charge, I'm in control.' At least some of the time he's traveling around those places." Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard told the Deseret Morning News in June he had heard Jeffs had been in the area around the polygamous border towns of Hildale, Utah, and Colorado City, Ariz., performing more child-bride marriages. Asked if his investigators have developed any new evidence of Jeffs' whereabouts, Shurtleff replied: "Not that I'm going to tell you about." Doran agrees that Jeffs is traveling around but said he still has no signs or indications that the fugitive polygamist leader has been in Texas recently. Despite Shurtleff's belief that Jeffs may be visiting the YFZ ranch outside Eldorado, the sheriff said authorities still don't have probable cause to search the property. YFZ stands for "Yearning for Zion," after a song Jeffs wrote. "Their guys have to have the same as we do," Doran said of Utah law enforcement. "They have to have proof, probable cause, anything to get us on the property to conduct a search. Even our local FBI, we don't have that. There's nothing to give us any indication to go in and search." Doran said he has developed good relations with FLDS members on the YFZ ranch. When Texas environmental authorities conduct routine inspections, he is also allowed on site. One of the only places he is not allowed to visit is the temple itself. "We've asked, they've said no," the sheriff said. "That's something that's sacred. You've got to be a member and go through ordinances. They compared it to the mainstream Mormon church." Jeffs, 50, remains a fugitive on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted list, next to the likes of terror mastermind Osama bin Laden. A $100,000 reward is being offered for information leading to his arrest. In Utah and Arizona, he is charged with sex crimes, accusing him of forcing teenage girls into polygamous marriages with older men. Federal prosecutors have charged him with unlawful flight to avoid prosecution. The Utah Attorney General's Office has been conducting an organized crime investigation into Jeffs and the FLDS Church. A federal grand jury in Arizona has also been investigating the group, issuing subpoenas to FLDS members. Some have been jailed for refusing to testify. The FBI said it continues to pursue a number of "good leads" in the manhunt for Jeffs. Caldwell urged more people to phone in tips. "Various divisions are receiving good information, and we are following every lead to a logical conclusion," she said. "Someone out there knows exactly where he is. We're asking they do the right thing. He's a dangerous man." E-mail: bwinslow@desnews.com | ||
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deseretnews.com Originally published Thursday, August 24, 2006 | ||
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