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ELDORADO, Texas — A 10-story building built by Warren Jeffs' followers in Texas that was completed last week has since been demolished.
Judge James Doyle has been flying over the Yearning for Zion Ranch for years, documenting an enormous amount of FLDS construction work. A year ago, aerial photos showed the start of the tower construction, using expensive heavy- duty steel and concrete. Last week, The Eldorado Success newspaper photographed what appeared to be a large air control or watch tower on FLDS property. But Thursday, when Doyle flew over the ranch, it was gone.
"We flew out this morning and we made a circle and sure enough, as you saw, it was all destroyed," Doyle said.
Outside of the FLDS group that constructed the massive building, nobody can explain its purpose or why it was torn down just a week after its completion.
"And it was massive. Gosh, it had 4-foot thick walls on it," said Author and Private Investigator Sam Brower. "Everybody was trying to figure out what it was. Nobody really knew what was going on."
Mysteriously, construction stopped late last year, and last month, construction suddenly resumed at a frantic pace. Doyle said he thinks FLDS people worked around the clock in late June and early July.
The Eldorado Success photos show it completed, with an observation platform on top. Some believe it was a watchtower to keep an eye out for Texas Rangers.
Doyle said it is not conceivable that the tower in Texas simply collapsed by itself. He told KSL he saw heavy equipment that the FLDS people used to tear it down. Brower believes Jeffs was involved, though.
"The one thing I do know is that they wouldn't have built it and they wouldn't have torn it down without Warren Jeffs' OK," Brower said.
