Nation IN BRIEF : MONTANA : ‘Freemen’ Families Take Part in Talks
- Share via
New faces emerged from the “freemen” farm complex near Jordan, as two family groups met for the first time with FBI negotiators and mediator Charles Duke. The families returned to the 960-acre ranch at the end of the fourth day of talks, despite negotiators’ hopes that they could persuade them to leave. Duke said talks will resume today. He said negotiators concentrated mainly on Gloria Ward, her common-law husband, Elwin Ward, and Gloria’s two daughters, Courtney Jo, 10, and Jaylynn, 8. “We had high hopes . . . of bringing the Ward family out,” Duke, a Republican Colorado state senator, said at a news conference. “We focused on the Ward family because they have the two smallest children.” Elwin Ward is wanted in Utah on a felony charge of custodial interference involving Jaylynn.
Sign up for Essential California
The most important California stories and recommendations in your inbox every morning.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
