UPDATE: AMBER Alert boy found safe in Oregon, mother & accomplice arrested
Original Story
As authorities continue to search for a Utah boy allegedly abducted by his non-custodial mother, a family member says she thinks the mother planned out the boy’s kidnapping in advance.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, 6-year-old Terran Alexander Butler and his mother, 43-year-old Emily Jolley, disappeared from Salt Lake City on September 26. According to police, Jolley abducted her son during a supervised visit.
Investigators are searching for Jolley’s last known car, a blue 2008 Toyota Prius with Utah license plate E847GT.
The boy’s father, Timothy Butler, told CBS 2 that he was never married to Jolley, and went through years of custody battles. The court ultimately gave him full custody of their son after Jolley allegedly made up a false story that Butler abused the boy. She’s also accused of coaching Terran on what to say to police.
The father is worried that his son is with a group of “dangerous individuals” that Jolley associates with, who consider themselves sovereign citizens.
“Basically, it’s a group of individuals the FBI has considered a domestic terrorist group,” Butler said.
“She told me that she was thinking about finding a way to take off with him,” Wanner said. “Watching her interactions with her son, who was 3… It made it ill. I was so upset.”
Warner added that her sister is violent and stopped talking to her after the conversation.
On her Facebook page, Jolley claimed that social service workers illegally took her son away from her.
“Do u think your Constitutional Rights will save you from CPS?.” Jolley wrote. “Under the American Safe Families Act they are incentivized, get more money, for taking your babies.
“No warrant, no due process of law, no crime, NOTHING!! Only lies by case workers!! This is what happened to me and my baby. Against ALL professional advice!!!
Former Unified Police administrator Chris Bertram warned that although it may not seem likely that a non-custodial parent would harm their child, no one truly knows what can happen in these situations.
“You may not think the child’s at risk, but we don’t know that. Things may get desperate, and the child may be placed in harm’s way. That’s a scary prospect.”
Police said Jolley created fake documents that indicated she had full custody of the child. Sgt. Melody Cutler with the Unified Police Department called the paperwork “meaningless.”
“Those are not legal documents and they’re meaningless in Utah and the United States courts,” she said. “They hold no legal value.”
Meanwhile, authorities added Arizona as a possible state where Jolley could be hiding out. Officials previously said Jolley has ties to California.
On Monday, a neighbor of Jolley’s mother told CBS 2 that Jolley said she was thinking of heading south with her son.
Jolley’s mother, Larain Latter Jolley, who was assigned to supervise the visit between her daughter and grandson, was arrested earlier this week for felony suspicion of obstruction of justice.
The neighbor said she witnessed the scene as police arrived at Larain Jolley’s California home. The neighbor said Larain sent her a text message, asking her to be a witness.
“They have guns. I don’t. I need witnesses,” Laina reportedly wrote, referring to the armed officers are her home.
Investigators obtained a search warrant and confiscated Larain’s cellphone, which had messages between Emily Jolley, Larain, and someone named Stephanie Barber.
According to police, Larain was told to tell police that her daughter had moved out days ago and “not to talk in the group text on the thing we talked about on the group text.”
Larain is not cooperating with police and so far, no leads have panned out. Officials are asking the public to be on the lookout for Terran and his mother.
Terran is described as a white male who stands four feet tall and weighs around 40 pounds. He has blonde hair, blue eyes, and was last seen wearing a green t-shirt with blue sleeves, blue shorts, and hiking boots.
Jolley is described as a white female who stands 5-feet-8-inches tall and weighs around 140 pounds. She has brown hair and blue eyes.
Anyone with information is urged to call police at 801-840-4000 or call 911.
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[Feature Photo: Emily Jolley/Facebook; Terran Butler/Police Handout]
