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$50K reward for capture of fugitive polygamist Lyle Jeffs

Posted at 9:34 AM, Aug 29, 2016
and last updated 2016-08-30 01:55:01-04

Federal authorities are offering a $50,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of fugitive polygamous sect leader Lyle Jeffs. 

Lyle Jeffs has been on the lam for 10 weeks after slipping out of his GPS ankle monitor and escaping home confinement in Salt Lake City while awaiting trial on food stamp fraud charges.

The FBI announced the reward Monday in a news release and said it will update the status of the search at a news conference.

Lyle Jeffs is the brother of Warren Jeffs, the imprisoned sect leader who is considered the prophet of the religious group based on the Utah-Arizona border. Lyle Jeffs ran the sect's day-to-day operations.

Lyle Jeffs was granted supervised release two weeks before he fled, despite objections from prosecutors who argued he was a flight risk.