The Finders were an

intentional community An intentional community is a voluntary residential community designed to foster a high degree of group cohesiveness, social cohesion and teamwork. Such communities typically promote shared values or beliefs, or pursue a common vision, wh ...

founded in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

in the early 1970s by former

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

Master Sergeant Marion Pettie (1920–2003).

1987 arrest case

The Finders came to wider public attention when two members of the movement were arrested in

Tallahassee Tallahassee ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of and the only incorporated municipality in Leon County. Tallahassee became the capital of Florida, then the Florida Territory, in 1824. In 2024, the est ...

, Florida, in 1987 and charged with misdemeanor

child abuse Child abuse (also called child endangerment or child maltreatment) is physical abuse, physical, child sexual abuse, sexual, emotional and/or psychological abuse, psychological maltreatment or Child neglect, neglect of a child, especially by a p ...

of the six children accompanying themthe two men having remained silent when, in a public park, the police inquired as to their identity and relationship to the children. The men were Douglas Ammerman and James Michael Holwell, both described as "well-dressed men in suits." They used a van to transport "six scruffy, hungry children" of varying ages between 2 and 11. According to U.S. District Court records in Washington, a confidential police source had previously told authorities that the Finders were "a cult" that conducted "

brainwashing Brainwashing is the controversial idea that the human mind can be altered or controlled against a person's will by manipulative psychological techniques. Brainwashing is said to reduce its subject's ability to think critically or independently ...

" techniques at a warehouse and a

Glover Park Glover Park is a neighborhood in northwest Washington, D.C., about a half mile north of Georgetown and just west of the United States Naval Observatory and Number One Observatory Circle (the Vice President's mansion). Every morning and evening, ...

duplex raided by law enforcement. This source told of being recruited by the Finders with promises of "financial reward and sexual gratification" and of being invited by one member to "explore" satanism with them, according to the documents. Police sources said some of the items seized showed pictures of children engaged in what appeared to be "cult rituals." Officials of the

U.S. Customs Service The United States Customs Service was a federal law enforcement agency of the U.S. federal government. Established on July 31, 1789, it collected import tariffs, performed other selected border security duties, as well as conducted criminal i ...

said that the material seized included photos showing children involved in bloodletting ceremonies of animals and one photograph of a child in chains. Robert Gardner Terrell, who owned one of the raided properties, claimed ″We are rational people ... not devil worshipers or child molesters″ and ″anything we’ve done is based on the desire for the children to have the richest life they could have.″ According to Terrell, the recovered photos of naked children were of Holwell’s own children, and the dead goats shown in the photos mentioned by the Customs Service were already butchered with the children being taught how to prepare them. The men were released six weeks later, with the state of Florida dropping all charges against them. Federal authorities concluded that there was no evidence of criminal activity. The authorities contacted the mothers of the children, who came to Tallahassee and retrieved them.

Allegations against the Finders

Despite this resolution, the issue was brought to wider attention in 1993 when Henry T. “Skip” Clements, an officer in private-sector consulting and a resident of

Stuart, Florida Stuart is a city in and the county seat of Martin County, Florida, United States. Located in southeastern Florida, Stuart is the largest of five Municipal corporation, incorporated municipalities in Martin County. The population is 17,425 accordi ...

, obtained a copy of the 1987 report which stated that the DC Police Department investigation into the Finders had been dropped as a "CIA internal matter." Clements alleged that the

Central Intelligence Agency The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...

had compelled the U.S. Customs Service to cease the investigation, supposedly because the commune was used as a front to train agents. Clements' allegations drew the interest of two

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature, legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, including a Lower house, lower body, the United States House of Representatives, ...

members Tom Lewis and

Charlie Rose Charles Peete Rose Jr. (born January 5, 1942) is an American journalist and talk show host. From 1991 to 2017, he was the host and executive producer of the talk show ''Charlie Rose (talk show), Charlie Rose'' on PBS and Bloomberg L.P., Bloombe ...

, leading to an investigation by the

Department of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

into the Finders and the 1987 investigation. CIA spokesman David Christian asserted that the charges were a misunderstanding stemming from a company by the name of Future Enterprises Inc. being used to train agents, with one member of the Finders working as a part-time accountant there.

Conspiracies

In 2019, the

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...

released hundreds of documents related to The Finders, noting on the FBI Vault website that it was their most requested topic. The Finders are often ascribed as an early example of

Satanic panic The Satanic panic is a moral panic consisting of over 12,000 unsubstantiated cases of Satanic ritual abuse (SRA, sometimes known as ritual abuse, ritualistic abuse, organized abuse, or sadistic ritual abuse) starting in North America in the 19 ...

in the U.S. Some authors have gone as far as describing the Finders conspiratorial beliefs as the 'Patient Zero' to other conspiratorial beliefs regarding the U.S. intelligence services allegedly covering up or taking part in sexual abuse.

References

External links

The Finders
FBI.Vault.gov {{DEFAULTSORT:Finders, The 1970s establishments in Washington, D.C. 1987 in Florida 1993 controversies in the United States Intentional communities in the United States Conspiracy theories in the United States False allegations of sex crimes Organizations based in Washington, D.C. Organizations established in the 1970s Satanic ritual abuse hysteria in the United States