Utah Amber Alert
Emily Jolley is a Utah mother who is wanted by police after she was accused of kidnapping her 6-year-old son, Terran Butler. An Amber Alert has been issued by the Unified Police Department of Greater Salt Lake. Jolley, 43, and her son were last seen during a court-supervised visit on September 26, police said.
Terran’s father, Timothy Butler, attempted to pick up his son from the visit and learned Jolley had left with him without consent, police said in a press release. “Terran was last seen in the area of Millcreek with Emily Jolley,” Unified Police said on Facebook. Millcreek is located in Salt Lake County, Utah, near Salt Lake City. Jolley’s mother, Larain Jolley, has been arrested on charges accusing her of felony obstruction of justice, according to jail records.
Jolley’s Facebook page shows she has posted about QAnon and she has shared posts relating to several other conspiracy theories, including from anti-vax groups and those who say the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic is overblown or is a hoax. She has also shared numerous posts about conspiracy theories claiming child protective service agencies are involved in child sex trafficking. Jolley appears to believe she is the victim of parental alienation and says on Facebook numerous times that her son was “legally kidnapped” from her by child protective services and the courts.
Jolley and the boy’s father have been involved in a court battle over custody for several years, according to Butler. Jolley has accused Butler of abuse and of taking part in child sex trafficking, accusations Butler and his family deny and which they say have been proven false by courts. Butler said on Facebook his child’s mother and her family and friends appear to have been planning the kidnapping for several months.
According to Butler, Jolley is only allowed to see Terran on limited court-ordered supervised visits. Butler wrote on Facebook, “She’s part of a domestic extremist organization called U.S. Sovereign Citizens & known to be mentally unstable & emotionally abusive to Terran.” Sovereign citizens believe they do not have to answer to government authority, including courts and police departments, according to the FBI.
Here’s what you need to know about Emily Jolley and the Amber Alert issued for her and Terran Butler:
1. Jolley Told Her Son His Father Was ‘Going to Jail’ After Fake U.S. Marshals Provided Court Documents to the Court-Approved Caregiver Saying Jolley Could Leave With Her Son, Police Say
FacebookEmily Jolley with her son, Terran Butler.
Court documents obtained by the Salt Lake City news station Fox 13 News reveal further details about the kidnapping accusations. According to police, Jolley was with her son and a court-approved supervisor when the boy’s father, Timothy Butler, tried to pick him up. When he could not reach Jolley, he called the supervisor, who said Terran was picked up by U.S. Marshals who told Jolley and the court-appointed supervisor, that Timothy Butler had a warrant for his arrest, the news station reports.
Police have said the U.S. Marshals were not actually U.S. Marshals and there are no active warrants for Timothy Butler. According to Fox 13 News, Timothy Butler then called police to report his son had been kidnapped after speaking with the court-appointed supervisor. The supervisor told police Jolley had given her mother documents from the supposed U.S. Marshals. She said she heard Jolley tell her mother to give them to Butler when he arrived at home, according to the news station. She also said she heard Jolley tell her son that his father was going to jail and the boy could now stay with her all the time. According to court documents obtained by Fox 13 News, Jolley, her mother and the boy were all at her mother’s home when she left.
Timothy Butler’s girlfriend wrote on Facebook that the supervisor was a nanny that Jolley found online through Care.com. Butler and his girlfriend had interviewed the nanny previously and used her for previous supervised visits. They described her on Facebook as a “sweet as pie grandma type.” Butler’s girlfriend wrote on Facebook the nanny said, “federal agents with pistols and identification showed up within 15 minutes of drop off with documentation stating custody had been granted to the mother and she could go home. They told her she was not allowed to contact the father and that there was a warrant out for his arrest. Lie.”
Unified Police DepartmentEmily Jolley was last seen driving this car, police said.
According to police, Terran has brown eyes and blonde hair. He was wearing a blue shirt, black gym shorts and black and blue hiking boots. Jolley is about 5 foot 8 inches tall, weighs about 140 pounds and has short brown hair and blue eyes, police said. Terran’s family says he likely has his pet mouse with him.
“Emily drives a blue 2008 Toyota Prius, Utah Plate E847GT. Emily was last seen in the area of Millcreek with Terran with an unknown direction of travel or location. Emily has ties to Washington State and may be traveling to Washington with Terran,” Unified Police said. On September 27, police said the case did not meet the criteria for an Amber Alert. But on September 28, police decided the criteria had been met for the alert.
“We have obtained additional information the child is in probable danger from the mother. This was the missing piece of the criteria,” the police department said on Facebook on September 28.
2. Jolley’s Mother Told Police the Boy’s Father Had a Warrant for His Arrest From the ‘Supreme Court of the Utah Common Law Constitutional Court,’ Which Doesn’t Exist
Larain Jolley.
Jolley’s mother, Larain Jolley, was arrested by police while they were searching for Terran, according to the Gephardt Daily. Larain Jolley was charged with obstruction of justice, a second-degree felony, and held at the Salt Lake County Jail on $10,010 bail, the newspaper reported. She was arrested September 27.
According to Fox 13 News Salt Lake City, officers from the Unified Police Department went to Larain Jolley’s home after Terran’s father reported his son was missing. The news station, citing court documents, said Larain Jolley gave the officers paperwork through the mail slot in the door. The paperwork, addressed to Timothy Butler, was from the Supreme Court of the Utah Common Law Constitutional Court, according to Fox 13 News. The court does not appear to exist.
Police said in court documents that Larain Jolley refused to allow officers to search her home for her daughter and. grandson, the news station reports. Police obtained a search warrant and said Larain Jolley continued to not cooperate, according to court documents. She was brought to the police station to be interviewed and said only she knew her grandson was safe and would not give any other information, according to Fox 13 News.
According to court documents obtained by the news station, officers used the warrant to read text messages on Larain Jolley’s phone. The news station wrote, “Communication was noted in the messages between Larain, Emily, and Stephanie Barber. In the messages, Larain received instruction from Stephanie. This instruction included telling the police that Emily had moved out days ago. The messages between Emily and Larain said ‘not to talk in the group text on the thing we talked about on the group text.'”
3. Jolley Has Shared Several Conspiracy Theory Posts on Her Facebook Page, Including About QAnon, Vaccinations & COVID-19
Jolley has posted frequently over the past year on her Facebook page about conspiracy theories ranging from QAnon and other child sex trafficking conspiracies, to posts about COVID-19 being a hoax and anti-vaccine screeds. But the main focus of her conspiracy theory posts feature claims child protective services agencies are actually profiting off of taking children away from their parents and in some cases selling them into child sex trafficking. There is no evidence to back up her claims.
Jolley’s previous posts in 2019 did not involve conspiracy theories or her son. Most of the posts are about her business and related to her views on spirituality, mindfulness and natural medicine. She began posting almost everyday about conspiracy theories in September 2019, shortly after posting about missing her son. She wrote in that September 20, 2019, post on Facebook, “I love my son!! To the moon & back. Miss him so much!!!!”
But Jolley’s Facebook page also shows her anti-government beliefs and views about vaccines and other conspiracy theories had been ongoing for several years. In one post, she said she has not gotten a flu shot in 15 years because she thinks it would give her the virus. In other posts, she explains to her friends details of what it means to believe in sovereign citizen and similar movements. Jolley appears to be backed up by others who believe in conspiracy theories about child protection agencies and family courts, many of whom appear to have had negative interactions with family courts or are also engaged in child custody battles.
On January 7, 2020, Jolley wrote about her son in a Facebook post:
This is exactly why the last 3 years I have been quiet and busy. Protecting my son is my top priority. I wish and pray every day for his safety. He has been stolen from me, against laws and professional reports. Raise awareness. Support protective parents and don’t get gaslighted!!
In a reply to a friend, Jolley wrote, “Law enforcement and the courts should be embarrassed and greatly concerned. The lack of action is monumental and will not go silently away.” When another friend asked what happened, Jolley wrote, “state sanctioned kidnapping in efforts to stop me from reporting crimes. It’s an epidemic nationwide.” According to her post, her son was taken away from her in May:
I reported crime, DCFS got involved and instead of protecting my son and I they took him from me and placed him with our abuser. I have multiple reports supporting the abuses with nothing supporting them taking him from me, nothing. Never get involved with CPS/DCFS. The research I’ve seen says that over 90% of the time they place children with their abusers. Their organization needs to get shut down.
Jolley wrote, “I’m doing my part to bring the awareness and justice to assist in the inevitable change for our most precious, our babies … this is all changing so I’m excited to a part of the change that myself and so many protective parents have been seeking!”
She has posted multiple times about QAnon, including a lengthy post on May 7 that talks about the “great awakening” and related conspiracy theories claiming a new constitutional law began on May 1 that will abolish income taxes. On May 6, she shared a screenshot of a QAnon-related Instagram post, from “redpills4humanity,” which shows Hillary Clinton’s head on a hornet with the caption, “I just found one of those murder hornet things.”
In April, she posted a fake movie poster featuring Trump’s face and saying there is a “silent war.” She wrote, “I think it’s something someone made as a tribute to Trump, Q and all Anons. I kept anonbabe17’s name there in the Instagram to show my source and give credit.”
She shared a conspiracy website’s February post falsely claiming Hillary Clinton has “committed sexual crimes against children.” Also in February, she shared an anti-Semitic post about the Rothschilds and Jewish people trying to create a “new world order.” In January, she posted a false story that Tom Hanks had been accused of buying and raping a 13-year-old girl. Hanks is a frequent target of QAnon followers.
One Facebook post unites the QAnon conspiracy theory with her anti-CPS beliefs. The post falsely claims child protective services agents are kidnapping and trafficking children and selling their blood for the adrenochrome. Conspiracy theory believers think adrenochrome, an “imaginary drug,” is being harvested from children by elites, according to The Daily Beast.
Jolley has also posted about coronavirus conspiracy theories, including a popular, and debunked, video, Plandemic. She wrote on July 10, “If ya care to have some level-headed info about this Plandemic.” On April 27 she shared a video featuring the main character of Plandemic, discredited researcher Judy Mikovits, falsely claiming COVID-19 was caused by vaccines. A few days earlier Jolley shared a post about supposed vaccine-related injuries to children and wrote, “Pro vaccine? Want some research? Here’s some. Please share.” On April 19, she shared a post about how to decline a vaccine, which is now covered by a Facebook “false information” message.
In April she wrote, “Has Gates killed more than Killery? What’s his next death toll look like? This patreon thread may/may not come from a reliable source but it sure raises some questions!! Do the research and learn Mindfulness Tools!!” The post claims Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has “exposed” Gates’ “vaccine dictatorship plan.” She also posted that a vaccine for COVID-19 will actually be a harmful drug developed by Gates.
4. Jolley Is a ‘Mindfulness Coach & Trainer’ at Free My Soul, EmilySpirit & New Pathways Wellness Center & Previously Worked as a Psychic Reader
According to her Facebook page, Jolley lives in Salt Lake City. She writes on her page that she is a “Mom. Advocate. Philosopher, writer, teacher & infinite partner with Spirit.” On her LinkedIn profile, Jolley says she is a “mindfulness coach and trainer” at Free My Soul, a company she created.
She wrote on LinkedIn, “Experienced Teacher with a demonstrated history of working in the alternative medicine industry. Skilled in Mindfulness, Oracle Database, Wellness Coaching, Coaching, and Entrepreneurship. Strong human resources professional graduated from Reiki.”
Jolley also wrote on LinkedIn that she is a “teacher and facilitator of spiritual connections” at another company she started, EmilySpirit, and said she works as a “mindfulness and meditation teacher” at New Pathways Wellness Center in Salt Lake City. She said she worked as a psychic reader at a bookstore in Salt Lake City from 2015 to 2018. Jolley also said she received a certification in divinity and ministry from the Universal Life Church.
Jolley has an identical twin she is estranged from, according to Facebook posts.
5. Terran’s Father’s Girlfriend Says Jolley Has Become ‘More & More Relentless’ With ‘False Allegations’ Against the Missing Boy’s Dad
Terran’s father and his father’s family and supporters have started a Facebook page, “Bring Terran Home,” to post updates and information about the case. Timothy Butler’s girlfriend, Amelia Jensen Meneses, wrote on Facebook, “My boyfriend Tim’s son that has lived with us full time the last 16 months was kidnapped Saturday in SLC by his unstable bio mom (she is only allowed court ordered supervised visits because of ongoing emotional abusive). Please keep an eye out and pray for our precious little guy.” She expanded on the case in another post:
Missing this little munchkin so much right now, hoping he thinks he’s on a fun adventure with his bio mom. 😢 Meanwhile detectives are making headway. Someone knows where he is and has probably been manipulated by Emily Jolley’s lies and false allegations. His father had spent a majority of the last 3 years proving his innocence against the lies meant to put him in prison and keep his son from him. He has been proven innocent over and over and the bio mom has become more and more relentless with the coaching and false allegations. Timothy found it in his heart to allow Terran to maintain a relationship with her even though 18 months ago she lost all custody and visits had to be supervised and at dads discretion. Apparently she had been planning this kidnapping for months and it’s very well planned out . Please reach out if you know anything that will bring him home #bringterranhome
Timothy Butler said in a Facebook post that an Amber Alert was not initially issued because, Jolley “does not have a history of physical abuse. We still believe the child is in danger because of the history of emotional abuse that lost her custody in the first place between her & the state of UT and her affiliations with the extremist organization U.S. Sovereign Citizens.”
On the Facebook page, Butler wrote, “She has 0% custody for a reason. His dad and family are worried sick for his safety. Please pray he is found and share his picture everywhere you can think. We are grateful for all of the support 💜 If you see our son Terran Butler or his Bio mom Emily Jolley, call police at 801-743-7000.”
According to Meneses, “She has drastically changed her appearance in the previous months planning for this. She cut her hair super short and put on weight. She barely looks like the facebook profile photo. The soccer games photo are all we have recently.”
Another mother with QAnon connections, Cynthia Abcug, was accused last year of plotting with other supporters of the conspiracy theory to kidnap her son from foster care according to 9News.
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