CEDAR CITY, Utah, Feb. 17, 2023 (Gephardt Daily) — Police here Thursday said they had recovered in Montana four children illegally taken out of state last week.
The search began after the Cedar City father of three children had been awarded custody by court order Feb. 10 of the brood. The children had been previously in the custody of their mother, Alexis Price.
“The court order was issued in part because of concern for the stability of Price and out of concern for the safety of the children,” Cedar City Police said in a statement posted Thursday on social media.
The father of the children enlisted the help of the police department in locating the children shortly after he was awarded custody by Utah’s Fifth District Court.
Police found Price had left her home in Richfield, according to the statement, and relocated with the children to Montana.
Investigators also found she had a fourth child with her unrelated to the other three, police said.
Coordinating with Montana authorities, Cedar City police located and arrested Price on a warrant obtained by the Iron County Attorney’s Office on four counts of custodial interference across state lines, a third-degree felony.
Also arrested on a similar warrant was Walker Bettfreund on four counts of custodial interference across state lines and an additional charge of obstruction of justice.
Police said Bettfreund, boyfriend of Price, is accused of assisting her in moving the four children from Utah to Montana.
