Aug.
30,
2023:
Children
Found
Malnourished

Utah
police
received
a
call
about
a
starved
child
being
found,
they
shared
in
a
press
release.
The
minor—who
appeared “emaciated
and
malnourished”
with “open
wounds
and
duct
tape
around
the
extremities”—was
taken
to
the
hospital
in “severe”
condition.

He
was
later
identified
as
YouTuber

Ruby
Franke‘s
12-year-old
son,
according
to
a
probable
cause
affidavit
obtained
by
NBC
News.
He
had
been
at
the
home
of
Ruby’s
business
partner

Jodi
Hildebrant
and
had
climbed
out
of
a
window
before
going
to
a
neighbor’s
house
to
ask
for
help,
per
the
document.

Police
then
searched
a
nearby
home,
where
another
child
was
found “in
a
similar
physical
condition
of
malnourishment”
and
was
also
hospitalized,
per
the
press
release.

Authorities
later
explained
that
they
discovered
Ruby’s
9-year-old
daughter “petrified”
while
sitting
by
herself
in
an
empty
closet
in
Jodi’s
house,
per
evidence
released
by
the
Washington
County
Attorney’s
Office.