FBI believes sect leader may be in Lake County area
 Fugitive Jeffs, head of fringe Mormon group, is wanted on child-sex charges.
 
By Austin L. Miller
The Ocala Star-Banner
 
LAKE COUNTY - The FBI is on the hunt for a reputed 49-year-old leader and self-proclaimed prophet of a sect known as the Fundamentalist Latter-Day Saints, who is rumored to be in Leesburg.

Warren Steed Jeffs is wanted by the FBI for unlawful flight to avoid prosecution, sexual conduct with a minor and conspiracy to commit sexual conduct with a minor.

Born in San Francisco, he is described as white, 6-foot-3 to 6-foot-4, 150 to 155 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes. He has listed his occupation as a private school teacher and accountant, and is considered armed and dangerous.

Jeffs is the reported leader of the Fundamentalist Latter-Day Saints, or FLDS, a group that distanced itself from the Mormon church in 1890 when Utah denounced polygamy, the FBI's Web site noted. The sect has an estimated 10,000 adherents. Jeffs and about 30 of his followers are suspected of being in the Leesburg area, trying to purchase land for the organization.

Officials from the Lake County Tax Collectors Office and the Property Appraiser's Office had no record of him buying any land. They also didn't have any records of FLDS, the United Effort Plan or any other corporation Jeffs or any member of the sect may be using to buy land for homes and a temple.

"We received a tip a while back that someone saw him in the Leesburg area purchasing land. We can't verify that and it's still under investigation," said Jeff Westcott, spokesman for the FBI's Jacksonville office.

Jeffs, the FBI said, has ties to Utah, Arizona, Texas, Colorado and British Columbia. He is reportedly accompanied by armed bodyguards.

Two months ago, an Arizona grand jury indicted Jeffs on the sex charges, and a state arrest warrant was issued. A United States District Court in Arizona also issued a federal arrest warrant for unlawful flight to avoid prosecution.

Officials said the sex charges stem from incidents that allegedly occurred during 2002 in Colorado City, Ariz.

Anyone with information is urged to call the FBI at (352) 732-7562 or (904) 721-1211.

Austin L. Miller can be reached at austin.miller@starbanner.com or at (352) 867-4118
 
Ocala.com
Originally published August 20, 2005
 
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