Two secretive polygamous towns that have been left divided after Warren Jeffs' reign of terror open their doors to the public - in rare public memorial for 13 victims of flash flood

  • Among the victims of the September 14 disaster were nine children and three of their moms, who were all sisters
  • A six-year-old boy is still missing after flood water coursed through a canyon in Utah's Zion National Park 
  • One of the grieving dads and his two surviving sons attended the service in their home town of Hildale
  • The family are part of a polygamy-practicing sect of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints 
  • The sect's former leader Warren Jeffs was jailed for life in 2007 for sex-abuse crimes but is believed to still command members from behind bars
  • Eight more people - including seven hikers - were killed in the flood  

A survivor so young he stepped on a stool to reach a podium microphone remembered his heart 'whacking like a sledgehammer' in the moments before a flash flood swept him and his family away nearly two weeks ago.

Joseph Jessop Jr. spoke Saturday during a rare public memorial service hosted by two secretive polygamous towns on the Utah-Arizona border - which usually shun outsiders and loathe government interference.

Funerals have previously been handled discreetly, with no invitations extended to outsiders, including family of the deceased if they aren't members of this sect of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. 

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Mourning their huge loss: (Left to right) flood survivor Joseph Jessop Jr, his father, Joseph N. Jessop, Sr, fellow grieving father Sheldon Black, Jr., and his two surviving sons at Saturday's memorial service

Mourning their huge loss: (Left to right) flood survivor Joseph Jessop Jr, his father, Joseph N. Jessop, Sr, fellow grieving father Sheldon Black, Jr., and his two surviving sons at Saturday's memorial service

Community members walk to the memorial service  on the Utah-Arizona border for those killed in the floods

Community members walk to the memorial service on the Utah-Arizona border for those killed in the floods

Three young women point at the cameras as they make their way to Saturday's tribute for the 13 victims 

Three young women point at the cameras as they make their way to Saturday's tribute for the 13 victims 

Nine of 12 bodies recovered have already been buried in a town cemetery with modest markers.

But Saturday's memorial was open to anyone and held in the same lush park surrounded by rich red rock canyon walls where sisters Josephine Jessop, Naomi Jessop and Della Black are thought to have been on September 14 with their 13 children before driving down the canyon during a flash-flood alert.

A display affixed to a backstop at the park's baseball field told their story with images captured on cellphones of the women moments before their deaths, and colorful writing that described the red-brown water 'tumbling its load and writhing like a massive serpent'.

The two towns of Hildale, Utah, and Colorado City, Arizona, hosted the afternoon memorial service at the top of a canyon road in Maxwell Park, where a few hundred people gathered - including Utah Gov. Gary Herbert, representatives from the state's attorney general office, and officials from both Washington and Mohave counties.

Flood survivor Joseph Jessop Jr had to stand on a stool to reach the podium as he spoke to mourners

Flood survivor Joseph Jessop Jr had to stand on a stool to reach the podium as he spoke to mourners

The sad occasion of the memorial service gave the public a rare glimpse into the secretive polygamous sect

The sad occasion of the memorial service gave the public a rare glimpse into the secretive polygamous sect

In a rare display of openness, the memorial welcomed the public as a way of thanking everyone who had helped search for victims 

In a rare display of openness, the memorial welcomed the public as a way of thanking everyone who had helped search for victims 

'Today, the people of Utah mourn with you,' Herbert said, citing passages from the Book of Mormon, adding that circumstances like these can draw people out, allowing them to help when they may have otherwise hesitated to do so.

'Good things can come out of difficult situations,' he said.

Mohave County Supervisor Gary L. Watson said before the service that it could be a turning point, 'one of those opportunities for everybody to realize that everyone matters,' he said.

Husband and father Joseph N. Jessop Sr. lost children as young as four and five years old that day: Rebekah, Melissa, Naomi, Ruth, Valient, Velvet and 'Sweet' Caress.

Women from the sect  wear long solid-colored prairie dresses while men wear jeans and long-sleeved shirts

Women from the sect wear long solid-colored prairie dresses while men wear jeans and long-sleeved shirts

 Sect 'outsiders' sat with members of the community to remember the victims

 Sect 'outsiders' sat with members of the community to remember the victims

A heartbroken Sheldon Black Jr. remembered his wife Della - saying 'she did everything for me, she knew exactly what I needed' - his 'little angel,' LaRue Black who would throw her arms around his neck and squeeze him, and his 'sweet precious angel' Melanie Black.

He also recalled his six-year-old son Tyson Lucas Black, with his 'beautiful, heavenly smile,' wanting to join him to do electrical work, climbing the ladder, using the drill, not wanting to goof off.

Tyson is missing, presumed dead, with teams of specially-trained dogs still searching for him.

Three young boys, including Joseph Jessop Jr. and two sons of Sheldon Black Jr., survived.

The service acknowledged several others who died in the same deadly storms - including seven hikers in Zion National Park and a man from nearby Hurricane, Utah.

The surviving Jessop and Black family members looked distraught at the service to remember their dead 

The surviving Jessop and Black family members looked distraught at the service to remember their dead 

Members of  the sect gathered to watch emergency crews clearing mud and debris from the road following the flash flood on September 14 (above)

Members of  the sect gathered to watch emergency crews clearing mud and debris from the road following the flash flood on September 14 (above)

Black Jr. said he was overwhelmed with everything everyone had done to help. Hundreds of volunteers from various government agencies and independent groups descended on the town to search a stretch of several miles for any sign of the women and children.

'I love you,' he said, in a soft voice.

There was no mention of religious persecution this time. 

Nearly two weeks prior, the two grieving husbands and fathers read from statements during a press conference that offered profuse thanks for the support offered them during the tragedy but also called for the end to what they called 'religious genocide' and asked that they be allowed to practice their religion in peace.

The majority of the 7,700 people living in the towns, including the women and children killed in the flash flooding, are believed to be members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, or FLDS, a secretive sect led by the now-imprisoned Warren Jeffs. 

At least nine grave markers for those lost in the catastrophic flash flood have been placed in a cemetery in Colorado City

At least nine grave markers for those lost in the catastrophic flash flood have been placed in a cemetery in Colorado City

The twisted wreckage of two vans that were washed away in a flash flood with women and children inside rest on the bank of Short Creek on September 15, 2015 in Hildale, Utah

The twisted wreckage of two vans that were washed away in a flash flood with women and children inside rest on the bank of Short Creek on September 15, 2015 in Hildale, Utah

Jeffs is serving a life sentence in Texas for child sexual assault. He was also accused of arranging marriages between his adult male followers and underage females. 

During the time he ran the church, he had the sole power to marry couples and would assign husbands and wives. He could also reassign them at his whim. 

Both councils and mayors of Hildale and Colorado City are also appointed by the church.

Hildale mayor Philip Barlow called Saturday's event historic.

'Little do you know what tomorrow will bring,' he said.

A religious rift in the town has divided families, with those who remain in the sect at odds with former FLDS members who were cast out of the church or left on their own.

The search and rescue effort following the flood represented the first time in years that many had exchanged words, let alone worked side-by-side. 

Ex-members of the sect or those who don't follow Jeffs' church have remained skeptical that the tragedy may unify the town, but the memorial gave them reason for cautious optimism.

Gratitude, thanks and love for government officials and volunteers were mentioned by all who spoke Saturday.

'It's good to see you all,' the young Jessop Jr. said to the hundreds gathered, at the outset and end of his brief remarks, perhaps not realizing his simple and genuine greeting illustrated something larger. Long split families and neighbors hadn't seen each other in quite a while, until now.

Even Don Barlow, 83, the first mayor of Colorado City, Arizona, and among the first exiled from the community by Jeffs, spent time after the service mingling with people he hadn't seen in some time. He also learned that he and Utah's Gov. Gary Herbert are cousins.

'The good Lord has a hand in all things,' he said. 

A girl jumps off a mound of dirt that was piled up with one of the vehicles found after the flooding on September 14

A girl jumps off a mound of dirt that was piled up with one of the vehicles found after the flooding on September 14

Residents search along the Short Creek bank are pictured after the flash flood in Hildale earlier this month assessing the damage

Residents search along the Short Creek bank are pictured after the flash flood in Hildale earlier this month assessing the damage

 

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