On Wednesday, May 17, 2000,  long-time anti-Jewish propagandist and Identity Minister Gordon Winrod and two of his grown children were arrested by Ozark County, MO sheriff’s deputies on child abduction charges. Ozark County prosecutor Tom Cline says the charges stem from the alleged kidnapping of six of Winrod’s grandchildren from their fathers in 1994 and 1995 in North Dakota.

On Friday, May 19^th, six children, ranging in age from nine to sixteen, remained inside Winrod’s home. Police officers were attempting to coax the children out of the house, where a small number of hunting guns was allegedly located. By Sunday, May 21^st, the children finally came out of the house when law enforcement officials brought the elder Winrod, who was still in custody, to the farm.

According to Cline, eight children were abducted in 1994 and 1995, but two were returned to their fathers in North Dakota. The fathers, brothers Joel and Tim Leppert, were married to two of Winrod’s daughters, Quinta and Sharon, who are both serving prison terms. The convictions of the two women are related to the abductions.

Gordon Winrod, 73, is the pastor of Our Savior’s Church in Gainesville, MO. His two children who were arrested with him are Stephen Winrod, 33, and Carol Winrod, 27. The elder Winrod is the son of the late Reverend Gerald Winrod of Wichita, Kansas, a pro-Nazi and anti-Semitic preacher active in the 1930’s and 1940’s.

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