A 16-year-old boy who was believed to have been taken from Arizona by his doomsday-believing mother has been found safe.
Gilbert Police officials wrote in a post on X (formerly Twitter) that Blaze Thibaudeau was found by US Customs and Border Protection agents at the Alcan Port of Entry - which is located along Alaska’s border with Canada’s Yukon Territory.
“Blaze was in the company of his mother, Spring Thibaudeau, his uncle Brook Hale, and sister Abigail Thibaudeau. Spring Thibaudeau and Brook Hale were arrested on valid full extradition warrants and turned over to Alaska State Troopers,” according to the post.
The teen was reported missing on Friday when a motion for emergency temporary orders was filed by his father Ben Thibaudeau, right after Blaze was taken from his Gilbert home to Boise, Idaho.
The motion pointed to an eerily similar case of Lori Vallow and her doomsday cult leader husband Chad Daybell that went to trial earlier this year.
Blaze Thibaudeau— (Gilbert Police )
It mentioned how that doomsday saga ended with multiple murders, adding that the missing teen’s mom formed similar beliefs about the end of the world several years ago.
Mr Thibaudeau previously told EastIdahoNews.com that he feared his wife had taken his son as they allegedly believe that the Second Coming of Jesus Christ is approaching.
“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,” Mr Thibaudeau told the news organisation.
The concerned father said that the two other family members that accompanied them were his 23-year-old daughter, Abi Snarr, and his wife’s brother, Brooke Hale.
“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 father had been working with Idaho law enforcement, who showed him surveillance footage of the four landing at Boise Airport on Monday.
They were spotted in a white Lexus SUV with pink tow hooks on the front driven by Mr Hale, and has been modified with 33-inch tires and a lift, the father said, speculating they have outfitted the vehicle to go into a mountainous region.
Mr Thibaudeau said the website he had received “credible information” that the four have used their passports to enter Canada.
His wife allegedly became interested in doomsday religious theories back in 2015.
In Christianity, doomsday is the belief that on the last day of the world, God will come and judge everyone, with some believing that the apocalypse will happen.
In a similar theory, the Second Coming of Christ varies in its versions, but it is the belief that Jesus will come back to Earth to set up a kingdom, with some also linking it to the judgment of his “enemies,” according to a definition by Britannica.
The couple regularly attended The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, also known as the Mormon Church, but Mr Thibaudeau became concerned when his wife started obsessing over texts about the Second Coming.
She started to spend huge amounts on food preparations, winter gear and tents, telling him that she needed to go to the “mountains” for the ‘“last days”, Mr Thibaudeau told the website.
Before long, his daughter, Ms Snarr, and his brother-in-law also started to become invested in the Second Coming, too; his daughter and wife also claimed they were having dreams about stocking up for the “last days”.
He moved out of his home in April but moved back at the start of October, as he thought that his family situation was getting better.
Ms Snarr’s husband, Brayden Snarr, also told the outlet he was becoming increasingly concerned for his wife, who tried to get him to come with them to Idaho.
Mr Thibaudeau and his son-in-law both said that the family had cut off all communication and they had not heard from them since they left.
