Exacerbating the problem, watchdogs say, is that even women who want to flee are stuck. They own no property, have little education and no job training. They're typically bound by several kids. Most know no one outside the community. That's a familiar look to visitors here.
Girls turn away in apparent horror when asked about their lives.
A photographer's tire was slashed and a reporter's car keyed while parked outside homes of apostates still living in town. It's that kind of wariness that some perceive as the community's increasing cultishness. The 1953 situation got people defensive. The kids who were kidnapped are now adults. Like hell they'd let that happen again.