Midwest
Utah mom kept missing daughter, 5, hidden in cult 'compound' for months with help from adult sons: prosecutors
A Utah woman is accused of kidnapping her then-4-year-old daughter in January 2023 and evading law enforcement for 18 months, with help from her adult sons, before she was finally caught.
At the time when Kimberly Dell Davidson-Drolet, 53, allegedly kidnapped her daughter, she and her now-estranged husband, Laurence Drolet, were in the process of getting a divorce.
After 14 months of planning, on Jan. 10, 2023, Davidson-Drolet sold her vehicle in Utah for $13,000 and deposited the check into her bank account, according to a federal indictment.
Three days later, she withdrew $16,000 and transferred the remaining balance to her sister, Kristine Merrill, over the next month.
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Kimberly Dell Davidson-Drolet is charged with kidnapping and conspiracy to commit kidnapping. (Buchanan County Sheriff)
On Jan. 23, 2023, Davidson-Drolet allegedly packed their personal belongings in duffle bags, piled them into her 30-year-old son Jaxson Davidson’s truck and drove cross-country to Missouri.
She left her personal cellphone at home in Utah and purchased a burner phone, federal court documents state.
Jaxon’s attorney, Craig Johnson, told Fox News Digital in a statement that the defendant is “presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, according to his constitutional rights,” and he will not be commenting further because it is an open criminal case.
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Merrill later told police that she destroyed Davidson-Drolet’s personal phone when she had allegedly given it to Davidson-Drolet’s 23-year-old son, Dallas Davidson.
Jaxson Davidson allegedly admitted to discussing taking the child out of state, and Merrill was present at the time and assisted with Davidson-Drolet’s departure, authorities wrote in court filings.
More than a year after Kimberly Dell Davidson-Drolet allegedly kidnapped her daughter from Utah, authorities would discover the now-5-year-old girl at “a compound run by a religious cult leader Paul Dean who is the founder of an FLDS religious type cult.” (NCMEC)
More than a year later, authorities would discover the now-5-year-old girl at “a compound run by a religious cult leader Paul Dean who is the founder of an FLDS religious type cult,” according to a complaint filed against Davidson-Drolet reads, referring to the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
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Dean is reportedly a White, self-described Christian man who founded two “Native American” churches in Missouri, according to local news outlet Springfield Daily Citizen. He calls himself “Man Found Standing.”
Dean, who is not charged in the kidnapping case, is involved in Native American traditions like sweat lodges and believes bitcoin is the solution of government instability.
“I thought: Here’s a solution. Here’s a way you can go and store value … that isn’t controlled by governments,” Dean can be heard saying in a 2017 YouTube video.
READ THE INDICTMENT:
Davidson-Drolet allegedly concealed her whereabouts by using burner phones and mailing letters back home to her other children through her sister via the U.S. Postal Service.
In her letters, she apparently said she felt safe in Missouri because “they don’t participate in extradition” and she and Dean were planning to “flee to Thailand,” the indictment reads.
“Kimberly Davidson-Drolet and other coconspirators went through great lengths to utilize pre-paid cellular phones that were rotated regularly to prevent law enforcement interception,” the complaint reads.
Davidson-Drolet, her sons, Jaxson and Dallas Davidson, and Merrill have all been charged with kidnapping and conspiracy to commit kidnapping.
Read the full article from Here
Detroit, MI
RECAP: Detroit’s lack of execution results in 5-2 loss at Carolina | Detroit Red Wings
RALEIGH, N.C. – Wrapping up the February portion of their 2025-26 regular-season schedule, the Detroit Red Wings unfortunately spent most of their Saturday night playing catch-up in an eventual 5-2 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes at Lenovo Center.
“They’re a heck of a team,” Detroit captain Dylan Larkin said. “This is a hard building to play in…They’re the class of the East, and you got to come in here at some point and get points. I just didn’t think we executed. We allowed them to be on top of us and come back in waves on Talbs.”
Goalie Cam Talbot made 30 saves in his first start since Jan. 22 for the Red Wings (34-20-6; 74 points), who moved to 11-5-2 on the road since Dec. 6. Meanwhile, turning aside 27 shots netminder Frederik Andersen helped the Hurricanes (38-15-6; 82 points) win their fifth straight game and extend their point streak to 12.
“We’re leaving without points, so that’s real disappointing,” Detroit head coach Todd McLellan said. “I thought that the game was real fast to begin with. There was a lot of pace going both ways. It was a good game for us to play in. A lot of their offensive opportunities came off of basically our tape…[Carolina] really took advantage of our mistakes.”
Detroit held steady against Carolina’s characteristically heavy, initial 10-minute push in the opening frame, but the leaders of the Metropolitan Division went up 1-0 when Taylor Hall blocked Simon Edvinsson’s shot attempt in their defensive zone and proceeded to score on a breakaway at 14:05. Then with eight seconds left in the period, while the hosts were on the man advantage, Sebastian Aho’s shot from the left face-off circle deflected off Edvinsson’s stick down low and into the back of the net to extend their lead to 2-0.
“They come out flying and shoot a lot of pucks,” Larkin said. “You can’t really pay attention to the shot clock because they fire it from everywhere, but I liked our start. It’s just that we had some times where we didn’t execute, and they score with eight seconds left. That’s a tough one, but we responded well. We won the second period.”
The Hurricanes struck again just 2:52 into that second period, as Eric Robinson jammed a wrist shot from the top of the crease to push ahead 3-0. But in a span of just 47 seconds late in the stanza, the Red Wings beat Andersen twice to put the hosts on their heels and make it a one-goal game going into the second intermission.
Milwaukee, WI
At the Bar
Minneapolis, MN
Minnesota’s Iranian community: Mixed emotions on US-Israel strike
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) – The local Iranian community in Minnesota is expressing mixed emotions following the recent joint U.S.-Israel strike on Iran.
Local reactions to the strike
What we know:
The strike resulted in the death of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, according to President Donald Trump and Iranian state media. Many Iranians in Minnesota feel this could lead to freedom for their country.
Nazanin Naferipoor shared that her sister in Iran was initially happy about the strike, believing it might bring about freedom. However, communication has been cut off since the strike began, leaving many worried about their loved ones.
The other side:
Hamid Kashani from the Minnesota Committee in Support of a Democratic Iran expressed mixed feelings about the strike. While he hopes for change, he is concerned about the potential loss of innocent lives.
Fazy Kowsari emphasized that the attack targeted the government, not the religion, and criticized the political motivations behind the strike.
Upcoming rally at Nicollet Mall
Why you should care:
A rally is scheduled for tomorrow afternoon at Nicollet Mall and 11th Street. Organizers view the U.S. strike as a rescue operation for Iranians held hostage by the regime, rather than an act of war.
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