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(Kingman, AZ-AP) -- Two sheriff's detectives have been dispatched to Colorado City.
The Mohave County Sheriff says they will aid state workers who will interview at least one child who lives in the polygamist community. No word on the nature of the investigation.
There are three confirmed teen runaways from Colorado City and neighboring Hildale, Utah, who are in state custody.
Two 16-year-old girls ran away earlier this month after the head of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints excommunicated about 20 men in the two communities.
The girls are in foster care in the Phoenix area. Another 16 year-old girl who fled is in state custody in Utah.
Critics of the polygamist communities say the church shake-up could prompt a mass exodus of children. Many of those, it's believed, would be girls who fear being forced to marry.
(Copyright 2004 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
