Four kids found after raid of cult

Iron County Sheriff’s Department deputies in Utah raided a compound of a polygamist cult and rescued two young brothers, officials said Monday. Two sisters reportedly were found Monday night in Lund.

The Salt Lake Tribune reported that police found the two girls allegedly kidnapped by their father, who court records say is a doomsday prepper belonging to a new religious group.

An Amber Alert to find 8year-old Dinah Coltharp and her 4-year-old sister, Hattie, was canceled at 7 p.m. Monday, the newspaper reported. It said the girls were found shortly after a friend of their father’s was found and taken into custody in Lund.

The Amber Alert said the girls were believed to be with Samuel Warren Shaffer, 34, a religious leader and associate of the girls’ father — all of whom were last seen near Lund, west of Cedar City.

Spring City Police Chief Clarke Christensen confirmed Monday night that Shaffer was in the custody of the Iron County Sheriff’s Office, The Salt Lake Tribune reported.

Family members of the father of the four children, who moved from Highlands Ranch to Utah and helped form the religioussurvivalist cult, had been worried about the safety of the two daughters after they say he told relatives he would rather kill the kids than let the government take custody of them.

Police in Spring City arrested John Coltharp late Saturday for investigation of kidnapping Dinah; William, 7; Seth, 6; and Haddie. Family members said they believed John Coltharp had given his daughters to a man for marriage.

Upon his arrest, Coltharp refused to divulge the location of his children, even after a prosecutor offered to release him on his own recognizance from jail if he told officials where they were, Christensen said. He is being held on a $50,000 bail, Christensen said.

He said the boys were found Monday afternoon outside Cedar City.

John Coltharp and Schaffer formed a polygamist cult called “Knights of the Crystal Blade” about a year ago, said Coltharp’s wife, Micha Soble, 28, of Springville, Utah.

Soble and John Coltharp’s sister, Cindi Ray, said they had been concerned about the safety and well-being of the children because they say he had threatened to kill them rather than let anyone take them.

They said the children also were in danger because Coltharp’s mother practices alternative healing methods, including treating illnesses with magnets, and may not take the children to a doctor if they become ill, Soble said.

The Coltharps grew up in Highlands Ranch and were members of the Mormon Church, Soble said. At age 16, Soble married John Coltharp, who immediately began “brainwashing” her about beliefs not held by the church, she said. They moved from Colorado to Provo, Utah, in 2008.

Soble said the Mormon Church excommunicated her husband because of his extreme beliefs.

John Coltharp wanted to move into the woods and live “off the grid.” She refused. They separated but continued living in the same apartment. John Coltharp quit his job in May and took the children to live with his parents in Spring City, Soble said. Soble said she filed for divorce and obtained sole custody.