Ruby Franke’s arrest prompted a search for her older children, report shows

SPRINGVILLE, Utah — Police executed a search warrant on a Springville home owned by Ruby Franke following her arrest, newly obtained documents reveal. 

Franke is famous for her YouTube channel “8 Passengers.” Police arrested Franke and her business partner, Jodi Hildebrandt, on suspicion of child abuse on Aug. 30. The two face accusations of restraining two of Franke’s children in Hildebrandt’s home using duct tape.

According to a report obtained by KSL, on the day of the arrests, Santa Clara police asked officers in Springville to locate two of Franke’s older children.

After finding the two youngest kids in Hildebrandt’s Santa Clara house allegedly suffering from abuse, Santa Clara police worried about the state of their older siblings.

“The whereabouts of [redacted] and [redacted] were currently unknown and given the state that the other children were found in, there were concerns regarding their welfare,” the police incident report read.

The report said officers identified themselves and knocked on the door of Franke’s Springville home for several minutes without a response. Officers found that the windows and doors of the home were all secured and covered with blinds.

Police broke down the front door after getting a warrant, but found the home was empty.

Officers then made several calls to try and find the children, including one to a rec center where one of them worked and one to their 18-year-old brother, Chad Franke.

Police eventually found the children with a family friend. The woman told officers that Franke had called her earlier that day and asked her to pick up the two children due to a “family emergency.”

The children’s older sister took them in following their discovery.

Related: 

• Jodi Hildebrandt, Ruby Franke business partner, surrenders professional license
• Concerns about Ruby Franke’s children reported to police, DCFS more than a year ago