"Joe Douglas & Sammie Tarkington "<P> August 18, 2000 <BR> A father's private purgatory <P> By Jayson Larson <P><BR> It's been over a year since Keith Tarkington has seen his sons. He scoffs at suggestions by friends<BR> who tell him he won't recognize them if he ever gets to see them again. All he knows is he wants to<BR> see them alive. <P> It has become a fierce yet silent battle in Henderson County's own backyard. On one hand, a father<BR> is battling to find his two young sons, who have been kept from him, against court orders, for well<BR> over a year. On another, the family police think may be sheltering the children refuses to surface<BR> from the confines of their rural Trinidad home. <P> The patriarch of the family, John Joe Gray, has warned police of a gunfight if law enforcement<BR> attempts to take the two boys from the residence. <P> It's the same residence where it has been said Gray once allowed the Texas Militia to hold training<BR> exercises. While the family patriarch is no longer a militia member, he is wanted for assaulting a DPS<BR> trooper in Palestine, and he has issued a clear warning to the Anderson County District Attorney's<BR> Office: Come on my land, and be sure to bring plenty of body bags. <P> The Divorce <P> While the conflict has remained, for the most part, on the back burner of area residents' minds - if<BR> they know of it at all - the situation has the potential to be disastrous. <P> Since April of last year, Keith Tarkington has seen his two boys, 4-year-old Joe Douglas and<BR> 2-year-old Sammie, one time. That was for only a few minutes in a bar ditch. <P> State district Judge Carter Tarrance awarded Keith temporary custody of the children during divorce<BR> proceedings on May 26, 1999, about a month short of what would have been the couple's fourth<BR> wedding anniversary. <P> Keith said he's seen his children "maybe two minutes" since that day. "You know, I hadn't seen them<BR> in about two months at the time. They hardly even recognized me. <P> "I just said 'I love you, what have you been doing?' ... They acted like (I was) a total stranger." <P> The judge's initial custody order came after Lisa Tarkington failed to make any court appearances.<BR> Repeated attempts to serve her divorce papers failed, and the only correspondence the court<BR> received from the woman came in a hand-written letter dated May 24, 1999. <P> "I love Keith very much and wish we could work things out, but he is letting people interfere with his<BR> life," Lisa wrote. "My children's safety and happiness are my first priority." <P> In the letter, she claimed she does not trust Keith's parents or the court system. "... I don't trust<BR> anyone, Jesus Christ is my protector and my guide." <P> She ends the letter, in which she alleges her husband abused both her and the children, by writing,<BR> "No justice for the just." <P> Keith denies ever mistreating his ex-wife or children. <P> Where Are The Boys? <P> Discussing his missing sons, the 34-year-old quickly becomes animated and angry. He is frustrated he<BR> hasn't seen the boys in well over a year. He is frustrated with law enforcement for not moving fast<BR> enough to suit him and frustrated with the Grays - who have done something to him he likely will<BR> never forget. <P> On April 9, 1999, Keith, Lisa and the boys - J.D. and Sammie - were returning from a dinner<BR> celebrating Lisa's 29th birthday. But before reaching home, the Tarkingtons were stopped by a Tool<BR> police officer for a faulty tail light. Upon running his record, the officer learned Keith had three<BR> outstanding warrants and arrested him at the scene. <P> Then the traffic stop took an unexpected twist. After placing Keith in handcuffs, the officer asked<BR> Lisa her name and birth date. Lisa, whose sister had previously served a stint in jail for refusing to<BR> provide proper ID to police, gave her name but refused to tell the officer her birth date. Her refusal<BR> led to an arrest, and police called a family member of Lisa's to pick up the children. <P> The couple stayed in jail overnight, and Keith paid his fine and was released when the judge arrived<BR> the next morning. Keith says he told Lisa, who was still incarcerated, that he was going to get the<BR> money to bail her out, but she refused and said she wanted to stay in jail. <P> In her letter to the court, Lisa claims she tried unsuccessfully to find Keith to help her get out of jail<BR> after he left. <P> Lisa's mother, Alicia Gray, eventually bailed her daughter out, and Keith and Lisa both landed back at<BR> the Gray residence where they spent most of the rest of that day, April 10, together. But later in the<BR> day, Keith said he asked Lisa to come with him to his parents' house in Gun Barrel City. She said she<BR> wanted to stay at her own parents' house with the kids, and Keith left alone. It was the last time he<BR> would see his kids under normal circumstances. <P> Keith said when he returned to pick up Lisa and the kids from the Gray house that evening, his wife<BR> didn't come out to meet him. Instead, Keith said, John Joe Gray met him at the fence. <P> "She was in the house, and her dad came out there and said, 'Look, she said she don't want to be<BR> around you no more. You might as well go on.'" <P> Religious Roots <P> By all accounts, the Grays are a deeply religious family. On the gate outside their 47-acre plot, the<BR> Bible references Psalms 91 and Jeremiah 10 are proclaimed. Also posted are the words: "God, Guts<BR> and Guns: Keep us free!" and the warning, "No trespassing. Survivors will be prosecuted." <P> In his last court appearance before District Judge Jim Parsons in an Anderson County courtroom, Gray<BR> refused to raise his right hand during the routine swearing in. <P> "I can't swear, your honor," he told Parsons. "It's against my religion." <P> Gray's promise to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth "so help himself" sufficed<BR> for the judge in place of raising his hand to be sworn in. <P> Later during the hearing, when asked if he was a current member of the Texas Militia, Gray said, "No,<BR> sir. I'm a member of the body of the Lord Jesus Christ ... King of kings, Lord of lords." <P> But theirs is a faith to which many in these parts probably can't relate. At least several of the Grays<BR> are members of the Oregon-based Embassy of Heaven Church. Members of the church, who can be<BR> found in several states across the nation, do not respect the authority of worldly government. <P> "Jesus explained that in the governments of the world, men lord it over other men. But those in His<BR> Kingdom are not to participate in such activities. In His government, we serve one another," church<BR> doctrine states. <P> Incidents over the past several years illustrate the Grays' contempt for worldly law. Gray's daughter,<BR> Racheal Dempsey, was arrested by Tool police in 1998 for driving without a state-issued license<BR> plate. Instead, the plates on her Buick Regal were issued by the Embassy of Heaven. She later<BR> presented to the officer vehicle registration and title papers issued by the church organization. <P> Dempsey's family refused to post the $300 it would have cost to bond the then 24-year-old out of<BR> jail because that would mean recognizing the state's authority. <P> "That would be putting her back in the system, and we're not in the system," Dempsey's mother,<BR> Alicia, told the Review in 1998. "Anything she signs or anything she does puts her back in the system.<BR> We are out of the corporate government system of the United States." <P> Dempsey threatened a hunger strike and was eventually released by a frustrated Henderson County<BR> Sheriff's Department. <P> Avoiding Violence <P> Area law enforcement, including the Henderson County Sheriff's Department and the local office of<BR> the Texas Rangers, have been monitoring the situation for months, looking for any possible way to<BR> come to a peaceful end to the affair. While maintaining that their first priority is to make sure every<BR> person involved is safe - the children, the Gray family and law enforcement officers - they realize<BR> that a peaceful end may not be possible. <P> "We want to get every living soul out just as they are: a living soul," said Henderson County Sheriff<BR> H.B. "Slick" Alfred. "We have no desire to harm anybody. We wish to be met by the same desires." <P> Law enforcement is torn into two distinct and complicated pieces. Despite having a writ of<BR> attachment by which the judge gives police the authority to seize the children, the law prohibits<BR> officers from storming into a home to seize the kids unless they are certain the kids are at the home.<BR> And they aren't. <P> On the other hand, John Joe Gray has two outstanding warrants against him for assaulting a state<BR> trooper and attempting to disarm a peace officer. The warrants stem from a 1999 Christmas Eve<BR> incident in Palestine when, during a routine traffic stop, an armed Gray bit a state trooper on the<BR> forearm and allegedly attempted to take another trooper's weapon. <P> Gray's last legal appearance came in January during a bond reduction hearing following his arrest in<BR> Palestine. Judge Parsons reduced Gray's bond from over $300,000 to $52,000. The judge also ordered<BR> Gray to report weekly to Henderson County community supervision officers. Gray never showed, and<BR> forfeited the bond. <P> Vivian Mauser, a bookkeeper at East Texas Bail Bonds in Tyler which posted Gray's bond, said the<BR> company is in the process of foreclosing on Gray's land. But they have been warned against sending<BR> bounty hunters to arrest Gray at his residence. <P> "I think they're afraid they're going to get another David Koresh," Mauser said, referring to the 1993<BR> Waco incident where a 51-day standoff ended in the deaths of some 80 Branch Davidians. "They're<BR> afraid if they go in there, the kids are going to end up dead." <P> Officers have a legal responsibility to serve the warrants, but do not want to start a gunfight by<BR> crossing over onto Gray's property. It has left law enforcement continually pondering the safest way<BR> to resolve the situation. <P> "We're just going to keep trying to figure ways to avoid (violence)," he said. "I don't know if we're<BR> going to be able to do that." <P> At least one former friend of the Grays finds it hard to believe the children, if there, are in danger. <P> "I haven't spoken to the Grays since 1987," said Murchison resident Nancy Eddy, "but after spending<BR> time with them for the better part of 1986, and from watching the way they treat their children and<BR> grandchildren, they would never harm those kids or abuse them in any way." <P> Meanwhile, the clock keeps ticking. Every second that goes by for Keith Tarkington without his kids is<BR> beginning to resonate with the furious sound of a bomb. And even though he doesn't even think his<BR> boys would recognize him at this point, he still thinks to the days ahead when he will have them by<BR> his side. <P> "People always tell me, 'If you see them you wouldn't even recognize them.' <P> "Yes, I would. They are my kids. I know they wouldn't recognize me ... but they've got the rest of<BR> their lives to know me. I just want to be there with them." <P><BR> <BR> ANYONE HAVING INFORMATION SHOULD CONTACT : Henderson County Sheriff's Office (Texas) -<BR> 1-903-675-5128 <P><BR> JOE TARKINGTON <BR> Case Type :Endangered Missing<BR> DOB :jun-24-1996 Age :4 years<BR> Height : 2' 8" - 81 cm <BR> Weight : 22 lbs - 10 kg <BR> Eyes :Blue Hair : Sandy <BR> Circumstances : Children may be in the company of their non-custodial mother. They may still be in<BR> the local area. Joe's nickname is J.D. and Samuel's nickname is Sammie. <BR> Date Missing :apr-09-1999 <BR> City of Report :TRINIDAD <BR> State of Report :TX <BR> Country of Report :USA <BR> Case Number :872002 <P> <BR> SAMUEL TARKINGTON <BR> Case Type :Endangered Missing<BR> DOB :sep-22-1997 Age :3 years<BR> Height : 2' 0" - 61 cm <BR> Weight : 20 lbs - 9 kg <BR> Eyes :Blue Hair : Sandy <BR> Circumstances : Children may be in the company of their non-custodial mother. They may still be in<BR> the local area. Joe's nickname is J.D. and Samuel's nickname is Sammie. <BR> Date Missing :apr-09-1999 <BR> City of Report :TRINIDAD <BR> State of Report :TX <BR> Country of Report :USA <BR> Case Number :872002 <P> National Center for Missing & Exploited Children

Joe and Samuel's pictures are shown age progressed to 6 years and 5 years by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. http://www.pollyklaas.org/tarkington.htm