Police arrested a Mormon mother in Alaska on Friday after she reportedly took her 16-year-old son out of Phoenix, violating a custody agreement. Spring Thibaudeau, 49, allegedly believed that the end of the world was near and that her teenage son, Blaze Thibaudeau, was chosen by God in what she believed to be the Second Coming of Christ. Along with her brother, Brook Hale, 47, and daughter, Abigail Snarr, 23, Spring Thibaudeau took off with Blaze to Alaska.
Reports note the mother was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and reportedly became obsessed with doomsday thinking. The Gilbert Police Department announced Friday that Blaze Thibaudeau was found safely by US Customs and Border Protection at the Alcan Port of Entry in Alaska.
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Blaze Thibaudeau’s parents were reportedly in the midst of a divorce.
According to court documents obtained by East Idaho News, the couple was divorcing, and Ben Thibaudeau filed for custody of his son from Spring Thibaudeau the day before they disappeared. The fearful father told the newspaper last week that he and his wife attended the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but in 2015, his wife’s beliefs allegedly became fanatical, and he was concerned.
The couple reportedly sought counseling from an “ecclesiastical leader” who Ben Thibaudeau said advised his wife that “she needed to stop if she wanted the marriage to survive,” he told the East Idaho News.
Ben Thibaudeau claimed his wife’s behavior and thinking became more concerning.
Spring Thibaudeau reportedly backed off of her alleged obsession but soon began to collect survival materials, he told the East Idaho News.
“She started spending a significant amount of money on food prep. She was buying a lot of winter gear, even though we live in Arizona. She was buying tents. She was convinced that the saints would have to gather in the last days up in the mountains, and she was preparing for that,” the father said.
The couple share five children, and only Abigail Snarr was reportedly interested in her mother’s thinking.
Ben Thibaudeau said his family members elevated Blaze in their spiritual beliefs.
“They see him as a Davidic servant (chosen individual) who plays a significant role in the Savior’s return. They feel they needed to take him to an undisclosed location where he would receive his calling and understand his role in the Second Coming,” Ben told East Idaho News. “I fear for his safety, especially if my son is contentious, rebellious, or belligerent. I fear that my brother-in-law would restrain him or do something that would incapacitate him.”
The mother, daughter, and uncle allegedly devised a plan to get Blaze Thibaudeau away from his father.
Snarr was with her mother, uncle, and brother when police in Alaska discovered them. Her husband, Braydon Snarr, reportedly called his father-in-law to tell him, “Our worst nightmares have come true,” Ben Thibaudeu told the East Idaho News.
According to the news outlet, the foursome was seen on surveillance at an airport in Boise. Braydon Snarr told East Idaho News his wife called and begged him to get on a flight to be saved, but he refused.
Before his son’s rescue, Ben Thibaudeu hoped Blaze would escape.
He told East Idaho News he prayed his son would outsmart his family and escape. He knew his son wasn’t interested in their plans and didn’t want to be with them.
“My hope is that he realizes that’s not what’s going on. He can either play into it a little bit or figure out a point when they’re vulnerable and escape. Then we can find him and work that direction,” Braydon said. “It’s my prayer he can somehow get away.”
The dad added that he loves his family but believes they were misguided in their extreme thinking.
“They’re all good people. They’re all wonderful people. But getting into these dark topics has really corrupted them in a really horrible way. But they are genuinely just loving, kind people,” he said.
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The group reportedly tried to escape the United States to Canada.
KTUU reported US Customs and Border Protection Officers stopped the family at the Canadian border and arrested Spring Thibaudeau and Brook Hale on felony warrants. The mother faces two counts of custodial interference, and the uncle has a warrant out for two counts of conspiracy to commit custodial interference. Abigail Snarr was not arrested.
Blaze Thibaudeau was placed in the custody of the Office of Children’s Services, and his mother and uncle were taken to Fairbanks Correctional Center, facing extradition back to Arizona, KTUU reported.
