MILLCREEK, Utah, Sept. 28, 2020 (Gephardt Daily) — The grandmother of a boy who went missing with his mother after a court-supervised visit in Millcreek on Saturday has been charged with obstruction of justice.
Terran Butler, 6, was visiting his biological mother, Emily Jolley, said a Facebook post from Unified Police Department on Sunday. When the father attempted to pick up Terran from the visit, it was found that Jolley had taken the child from her Millcreek residence without consent, police say.
An Amber Alert for the missing child was issued Monday afternoon.
A probable cause statement from the 3rd District Court of Salt Lake County said Larain Latter Jolley, 63, is facing one count of the second-degree felony.
Officers responded Saturday to an address in the area of 660 E. 4100 South in Millcreek on the report of a child kidnapping. Terran’s father had left the child with Emily Jolley on a supervised visit, the statement said. Emily Jolley’s mother, Larain Jolley, was also scheduled to be at the visit.
At the end of the visit, the child’s father attempted to call Emily Jolley to pick up Terran, but the call went to voicemail, according to the probable cause statement. The child’s father then attempted to call the adult who was supervising the visit. The woman told the father that a warrant was out for his arrest. The father then reported his son kidnapped.
“Upon UPD officer arrival, Larain submitted paperwork to officers through the mail slot in the door,” the statement said.
“The paperwork was addressed to the father from the Supreme Court of the Utah Common Law Constitutional Court. In the narrative of the paperwork, the document submits that the father had committed crimes of rape, child trafficking.”
No such court, however, exists in the state of Utah.
Officers asked for consent to search the property of Larain Jolley for the child and his mother, but were denied consent. A warrant was obtained for a search of the residence, including its security system and all video recording devices.
Larain Jolley exited the residence and was holding an iPhone that was recording officers’ interactions, the statement said. Officers explained to her that the phone was part of the search warrant due to the phone’s recording capacities.
“Due to exigent circumstances of a missing endangered child, officers accessed the phone text messages of Larain,” the statement said. “Communication was noted in the messages between Larain, Emily, and another woman. In the messages, Larain received instruction from the woman. This instruction included telling the police that Emily had moved out days ago. The messages between Emily and Larain said not to talk in the group text on the thing we talked about on the group text.”
The care supervisor was interviewed and said she witnessed Emily Jolley provide the documentation presented to officers by Larain Jolley. Emily Jolley told her mother to give these documents to the child’s father when he arrived at the home. The care supervisor also said Emily Jolley told the child that his father was going to jail, and he could stay with her all the time now. Larain Jolley was present during this conversation, the statement said. When the care supervisor left the residence, Emily Jolley and her mother were with the child in the home.
Larain Jolley was brought to the Unified Police Department for an interview. During the interview, she refused to cooperate with detectives. She said she knew the child was safe and would not give any other information.
She was transported to Salt Lake County Jail with her bail set at $10,010.
As of late Monday night, Emily Jolley and Terran are still missing.
The child’s father, Timothy Butler, wrote on Facebook that Emily is mentally unstable and a follower of U.S. Sovereign Citizens, an armed extremist group the FBI calls a terrorist organization. According to Butler, she’s also “emotionally abusive to Terran.”
Jolley drives a blue 2008 Toyota Prius, with Utah license plate E847GT. It’s not known where the two are headed, the post said. Jolley has ties to Washington State, according to UPD.
Terran is described as having brown eyes and blond hair, and was wearing a blue shirt, black gym shorts, and black and blue hiking boots when he went missing.
Jolley is described as 43 years old, 5 feet 8 inches tall and 140 pounds, with brown hair and blue eyes. It’s not clear what she was wearing when the two went missing.
Anyone who has information about the whereabouts of the two is asked to call UPD at 801-743-7000.
