Missing Idaho siblings suspected to be linked to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
On June 23, Idaho issued an Amber Alert to search for missing children. The case is suspected to be related to the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (FLDS).
People Magazine reported that the Amber Alert was for 13-year-old Allen Larand Fischer and 15-year-old Rachelle Leray Fischer. They may have been missing between 6 and 8 p.m. on June 22.
At 8:48 p.m. on June 22, the mother of the siblings returned to her home in Monteview, Idaho, after a Bible class. She found that the children were not at home and reported them missing.
NBC News reported that Allen was 5 feet 9 inches tall, weighed 135 pounds, had long sandy blond hair, blue eyes, and wore a denim shirt and jeans. Rachel was 5 feet 5 inches tall, weighed 135 pounds, had brown hair, blue eyes, and wore a grass green dress.
The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office said that the missing siblings may have voluntarily left home based on their faith and returned to the FLDS community in Trenton, Utah, where they had lived.
The FLDS practiced polygamy, and its leader, Warren Jeffs, called himself a “prophet.” In 2011, he was convicted of two counts of child sexual abuse and sentenced to life imprisonment.
Jennifer Fullmer, a spokeswoman for the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, said, “The mother of the missing siblings was a member of the FLDS. She was later expelled from the church and was forced to temporarily leave her children in the church community until she won custody of the children and took them to Montview.”
Fulmer said, “Police believe her children want to return to the FLDS lifestyle,” but do not believe the children left on their own. “There are no buses or trains in the area, and it is in the middle of the desert. Their mother believes that the FLDS came to pick up the children.”
Another report pointed out that the eldest sister of the siblings, 18-year-old Elantra Dee Fischer, disappeared on January 1, 2023, and her whereabouts are still unknown.
Fulmer said: “Elantra stole a car and ran away from home, then abandoned the car on the side of the road and took another pick-up vehicle to leave. She left a note for her mother saying that she was going back to the FLDS community and that she would pay for the gas.”
