Utah family YouTuber arrested on abuse

charges after malnourished child in

duct tape found
Daysia Tolentino
Updated Fri, September 1, 2023 at 10:23 AM GMT+8·4 min read

0
Ruby Franke, the Utah mom behind the now-defunct family YouTube
channel "8 Passengers," was arrested Wednesday on child abuse charges
after authorities found a malnourished minor with open wounds and duct
tape on their extremities, officials announced.
Franke's business partner, Jodi Hildebrandt, was also arrested on the same
charges. The two regularly collaborate on relationship and parenting advice
videos for Hildebrandt's life counseling service ConneXions. ConneXions
has been criticized in the past for its teachings about parenting, including
prioritizing the organization's "principles of truth" over a person's children.
Ruby Franke speaks during an Instagram video posted to her @moms_of_truth account.
(@moms_of_truth via Instagram)
The Santa Clara-Ivins Public Safety Department said in a press release
Thursday that it received a report about a juvenile in need of help at 10:50
a.m. Wednesday morning.
The juvenile was described as "emaciated and malnourished, with open
wounds and duct tape around the extremities."
"The condition of the juvenile was so severe that they were seen by Santa
Clara-Ivins EMS and transported to a local area hospital," the press release
said.
Evidence led officers to a nearby home where another juvenile was found
in similar condition and taken to a local hospital for treatment, the release
said. Four minors were taken into the care of the Department of Child and
Family Services following a search of the home where the emaciated
juveniles were found.
Franke and Hildebrandt were then arrested in connection with the incident,
the release said. The two are still in custody, according to the Washington
County Sheriff’s Department.
Representatives for Franke and Hildebrandt did not immediately respond to
NBC News requests for comment. The Santa Clara-Ivins Public Safety
Department and Washington County Sheriff’s Department also did not
immediately respond to a request for comment.
Ruby Franke, right, and business partner, Jodi Hildebrandt, speaks during an Instagram video posted to
her @moms_of_truth account. (@moms_of_truth via Instagram)
Franke rose to prominence in 2015 through the 8 Passengers YouTube
channel, which featured her husband Kevin and six children. The channel
had a following of nearly 2.3 million subscribers before it was taken down
earlier this year. It’s unclear why the channel was removed from YouTube.
The Frankes' strict parenting style has led some viewers to report them to
authorities. In June 2020, some viewers called local child protective
services on the parents after their then-15-year-old son Chad said in a
video that he had slept on a beanbag for seven months, according to
Insider. Ruby Franke told the outlet at the time that the sleeping
arrangement was Chad's "choice" after being removed from his shared
room with his younger brother for behavioral issues.
Ruby Franke has also faced backlash for videos in which she refused to
bring her then-6-year-old lunch after the child forgot to pack food
and threatened to throw away her children's prized possessions.
Eldest daughter Shari Franke, 20, posted about her mother's arrest to her
Instagram Story on Wednesday night. Shari Franke, who previously posted
that she was not in contact with her immediate family, shared an image of
police officers with the caption, "Finally."
In another Instagram Story post, Shari Franke wrote, “Hi all. Today has
been a big day. Me and my family are so glad justice is being served.
We’ve been trying to tell the police and CPS for years about this, and so
glad they finally decided to step up."
"Kids are safe, but there's a long road ahead," she continued in her post.
"Please keep them in your prayers and also respect their privacy."
She also posted a request to her followers to share "any questionable or
concerning ConneXions or 8Passengers videos" with her on Thursday.
Shari Franke did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Elle Mechem, Julie Griffiths Deru and Bonnie Hoellein, three women who
say they are Ruby Franke’s sisters and who are also family
influencers, shared a joint Instagram post saying her arrest “needed to
happen.”
“For the past 3 years, we have kept quiet on the subject of our sister Ruby
Franke for the sake of her children,” the post read. “Behind the public
scene we have done everything we could to try and make sure the kids
were safe.”
Mechem, Deru and Hoellein did not immediately respond to requests for
comment.
In Utah, aggravated child abuse is defined as an act that "inflicts upon a
child serious physical injury" or "causes or permits another to inflict serious
physical injury upon a child."
CORRECTION (Aug. 31, 2023, 3:45 p.m. ET): A previous version of this
article misstated the name of an agency. It is the Santa Clara-Ivins Public
Safety Department, not Santa Clara-Ivans Public Safety Department.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
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Inside professional pickleball’s civil

war: ‘All hell has broken loose’
A spending war between billionaires battling for control of
professional pickleball has thrown the sport's future into chaos.
Jeff Eisenberg

· Senior writer

Updated Fri, September 1, 2023 at 5:09 AM GMT+8·10 min read

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Tyson McGuffin hits a backhand volley shot against Connor Garnett during the PPA event in June.
McGuffin is one of the players targeted by MLP. (Bruce Yeung/Getty Images)

Connor Pardoe remembers when he became concerned that the uneasy

partnership between professional pickleball’s two biggest entities might not
last.
The founder of the Professional Pickleball Association says he sensed
something was wrong a couple weeks ago when Major League Pickleball
executives suddenly stopped returning his calls and texts.
“I’m not saying this to be conceited, but usually when I call someone in
pickleball they call me back,” Pardoe told Yahoo Sports. “When they went
radio silent for four days, I thought, ‘Oh no, what’s going on here?’ ”
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Ford ditching three nameplates to build

more electric vehicles
Ronan Glon

Thu, August 31, 2023 at 8:31 PM GMT+8·3 min read

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See Full Image Gallery >>
Ford expects its electric-car division to lose about $4.5 billion in 2023, yet
the brand plans to continue investing in battery-powered vehicles at the
expense of at least three familiar nameplates. It will soon send the Edge,
the Escape and the Transit Connect to the chopping block.
Industry trade journal Automotive News reported that the three models are
living on borrowed time. Without citing sources, it wrote that the Edge will
retire from the American market in 2024 so that Ford can use the Oakville,
Canada, plant that builds it to manufacture EVs. The model could live on in
overseas markets, like China, and there's no word yet on what the future
holds for the Edge-based Lincoln Nautilus.
Story continues
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'Tragic': Critically endangered Amur

tiger dies in 'freak accident' at Colorado
zoo
Saman Shafiq, USA TODAY

Fri, September 1, 2023 at 1:23 AM GMT+8·5 min read

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Mila, a 2-year-old critically endangered Amur tiger at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in Colorado Springs.

A critically endangered Amur tiger - one of only 500 - died on Friday in a

"freak accident" as a Colorado zoo tried to operate her for a "severe dental
issue".
Mila, who was moved to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo (CMZoo) in Colorado
Springs from Toronto Zoo in March 2023, was suffering from a dental
issue, which needed to be operated on, said CMZoo in a statement.
"This was not just a cavity; and it could not be left untreated, as it was
advancing to her sinuses. Left untreated, infections like this can be fatal for
animals," said the zoo.
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Florida woman in hospital gown

arrested after allegedly stealing
ambulance
Adam Sabes

Fri, September 1, 2023 at 8:03 AM GMT+8·1 min read

0
A woman in Florida was arrested on Wednesday afternoon after allegedly
stealing an ambulance from a local hospital.
The Port St. Lucie Police Department said in a Facebook post that 25-year-
old Marquisa Allen stole an unoccupied ambulance from the HCA Florida
St. Lucie Hospital in Port St. Lucie, Florida, on Wednesday afternoon.
Officials said Allen was sitting on a beach in her hospital gown when she
decided to allegedly drive off with the ambulance while personnel were
inside dropping off a patient.
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Country music star says he’s leaving

the industry because ‘knowing Jesus’ is
the ‘treasure’ of his life
Hanna Seariac

Fri, September 1, 2023 at 1:49 AM GMT+8·1 min read

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Granger Smith performs during the 4th Annual ACM Party for a Cause Festival at the Las Vegas Festival
Grounds on April 3, 2016, in Las Vegas. | Amy Harris, Invision, Associated Press

When Granger Smith performed his last country music concert on

Saturday, he revealed the “real reason” he’s leaving the industry.
It’s because “knowing Jesus” and sharing his knowledge of Jesus with
others is the “treasure of my life,” Smith said, according to Fox News. “And
I want you to know this, so you can have him as your treasure too.”
Smith has now completed his final country music tour “Live a River” and is
pursuing a master’s degree at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary,
which is a seminary for Baptist Christians to prepare to become pastors
and ministers, per the Deseret News.
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Mom accused of shooting daughter's

allegedly abusive boyfriend after he
yelled, 'Just shoot me': report
Audrey Conklin

Fri, September 1, 2023 at 3:34 AM GMT+8·2 min read

Florida shooting suspect was held under Baker Act in 2017: Bryan Llenas
F ox News correspondent Bryan Ll enas has t he l atest on the 'raci ally motiv at ed' shooti ng
in Jacksonville, Fla., on 'Fox News Liv e. '
Dallas police on Sunday arrested a woman in connection with the murder
of her daughter's boyfriend.
Patricia Conlon, 49, is charged with murder after she allegedly shot Joshua
Troutte, 34, to death at the victim's home on the 4800 block of Ash Lane in
Dallas around 1:50 p.m. Sunday.
Troutte was allegedly abusive toward Conlon's daughter, saying the pair
had been in an "ongoing domestic disturbance" since December 2021,
according to records obtained by local news.
The 34-year-old man had apparently hit Conlon's daughter in the head with
a cellphone the day before the shooting. Her daughter said she was going
to end the relationship and move out of Troutte's home, according to police
records obtained by FOX 4 Dallas.
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Jimmy Kimmel says he was 'very intent

on retiring' before the WGA strike