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WEST JORDAN — Accusations of gold and silver thefts are swirling around a Utah polygamous clan. Rather than a few gold coins, like those that turned up mysteriously a few days ago in a St. George bank, this claim involves gold and silver bullion worth millions of dollars. But is it real, or simply a hoax?
We know one major theft of silver bars really did occur. There's a related allegation of a much larger theft, but detectives aren't sure whether to believe it, and the lack of security seems incredible.
People involved in both situations are members of the Davis County Co-op, the formal name of the Kingston polygamist clan. What we don't know is whether the gold and silver is somehow associated with the Kingston's extensive business empire.
Last month, Patty Kingston reported the theft of gold coins and gold bars worth $500,000 to $5 million, but she offered police no proof the gold bars ever existed.
"Why would you put them in a box and put them in a closet that numerous people have access to? And why wouldn't you document that?" West Jordan police Lt. Bob Shober asked.
Case closed. A hoax, maybe just an unverifiable claim ... or is it? The day before the West Jordan complaint, two young members of the Kingston clan were nabbed by sheriff's deputies on the other side of the Salt Lake Valley after a neighbor spotted them hauling silver bullion out of their aunt's house in Millcreek.
"We believe in the area of about $70,000 worth of silver bars," said Lt. Don Hutson, spokesman for the Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office.
Investigators say Scott and David Brown got only about one-sixteenth of the silver in the Millcreek house. At least $1 million worth was stored under a staircase.
"It appears these young men made several trips in and out and got to the point where they were either tired or didn't feel like their vehicle could carry any more weight," Hutson said.
What connects the Millcreek theft to the alleged West Jordan theft is that the two women involved are sisters-in-law. Patty Kingston claimed the treasure of gold and silver once was jointly held, and then divided with her husband's sister five years ago.
"They split it up and he took half and she took half," Shober said.
A West Jordan detective pressed Patty Kingston for any photos or documentation to prove her golden half of the treasure ever existed. "She has not returned our phone calls, and he (the detective) has left several messages; and so he finally closed out the case because of lack of cooperation from her part," Shober explained.
We spoke briefly with Patty Kingston; she wouldn't talk about the missing gold or whether it's connected to the Kingston group. At her sister-in-law's house in Millcreek, the sheriff's office says the treasure in silver is now being kept under much tighter security.
The two Brown brothers still have not been hit with formal charges.
We learned about the West Jordan case because of calls that came in after we broke a story about gold coins last week. On Thursday, we told you about a mysterious woman who exchanged 14 gold coins at a bank near St. George. She got only $20 a coin, even though they're worth about $900 apiece.
We were contacted by Patty Kingston's brother and a private investigator they hired. They want to know if the woman who dropped off the coins might be connected to their missing treasure, which included some gold coins.
Zions Bank has still been unable to identify the woman and has not released surveillance video.
E-mail: jhollenhorst@ksl.com
