Former “8 Passengers” YouTube vlogger, Ruby Franke, reportedly had several run-ins with law enforcement prior to her arrest earlier this year on child abuse charges.
According to police records obtained by Insider, law enforcement in Utah had at least five prior contacts with Franke before her August 2022 arrest on child abuse charges.
In 2020, Franke called police in Springfield, Utah, twice to report harassment and a potential stalker related to her YouTube channel, “8 Passengers.” During one of the calls in April 2020, Franke told police someone texted her demanding she stay off social media or they would “take her family down.”
Two months later, she reported receiving an Instagram message with her home address saying the sender would go “looting” there.
After the second incident, Springville police set up patrols outside Franke’s residence. During that time, Franke contacted law enforcement multiple times to report harassment tied to her YouTube fame.
By 2022, neighbors began contacting police regarding Franke herself, leading deputies to perform at least two welfare checks at her home, court documents indicate.
In September of that year, Springville police spoke with several of Franke’s neighbors, who reported that she repeatedly left her children home alone unattended for multiple days at a time.
According to the neighbors, Franke would travel several hours away to visit her business partner, Jodi Hildebrandt, while neglecting her children.
Franke’s eldest daughter, Shari Franke, made a call herself in September 2002 and said neighbors informed that her younger siblings were left home alone for five days while Franke was away in St. George, Utah.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, both Hildebrandt and Franke were arrested earlier this year and charged with six counts of child abuse.
The arrests came after a neighbor called 911 on August 30 after an “emaciated” boy arrived at his doorstep with open wounds and duct tape on his extremities after escaping from Hildebrandt’s Ivins, Utah, home.
“I just had a 12-year-old boy show up here at my front door asking for help and he said he just came from a neighbor’s house and you know, there’s been problems at this neighbor’s house,” the neighbor told the dispatcher.
“He’s emaciated, he’s got tape around his legs, he’s hungry and he’s thirsty.”
Officers went to Hildebrandt’s home encountered another child, a 10-year-old girl, who was taken for treatment and deemed malnourished by medical professionals.
Hildebrandt directly cared for the children, but police suspect Franke was aware of the abuse as she filmed a YouTube video in Hildebrandt’s basement two days before the incident.
Franke reportedly did not speak to cops and requested a lawyer. Hildebrand commented that the children should “never be around any other kids” — further leading police to believe she was aware of the abuse.
“So she may come looking for him here soon but he’s not doing obviously, we need the cops here as soon as possible,” the neighbor continued, referring to Hildebrandt. “She’s a bad lady. We didn’t realize how bad.”
According to a press release from the Washington County Attorney’s Office, “each defendant is accused of causing or permitting serious physical injury to the victims in three different ways: (1) a combination of multiple physical injuries or torture, (2) starvation or malnutrition that jeopardizes life, and (3) causing severe emotional harm.”
Franke’s four children were placed in the state’s care following last month’s incident. Both Ruby and Hildebrandt remain jailed without bond.
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[Feature Photo: Franke Rube & children/Instagram]
Additional reporting by Jacquelyn Gray
