Meet 'The Body,' Okanogan County's Sovereign Citizen 'Cult' Where Children are Property
And an interview with the journalist who has been covering them for years
On the evening of April 8, 2022, Okanogan Sheriff’s deputies arrested two members of a religious organization known as “The Body” near Tonasket, Washington. A six-year-old girl was recovered at the scene and taken into protective custody.
The girl’s father, Christopher Coombes, was arrested on three charges, according to journalist Syran Warner, who has been following The Body and its movements for years. Coombs was arrested for violating a writ of habeas corpus and a parental order, as well as obstruction of justice.
Coombes refused to exit the vehicle for about an hour and 45 minutes as the child hid in the back seat. He repeatedly told deputies, “I do not consent” to arrest and cited federal legal cases in which he names “14 wrongdoers” who have “conspired against me.”
Warner obtained the deputies’ bodycam video of the incident from the Okanogan Sheriff’s Office and edited it down. He posted that video to YouTube on May 17.
“Ok, so he’s refusing to get out of the vehicle,” one deputy explained to another who had just arrived on scene. “He says we’re not authorized to arrest him or anything. The child is right there in the backseat.”
That deputy’s supervisor arrived and took over the negotiation with Coombes. Shortly after that, the property owner, Stewart Ross, confronted the two deputies backing up their supervisor.
Things got heated. Ross got belligerent and threatening. So they arrested him.
If you watch the video, that seems to have taken the wind out of Coombes’ sails a bit. The supervisor told him that they would “affect the arrest” even if they had to break the window and pull him out of the vehicle. The supervisor stressed that he would prefer not to do that for the child's sake, but they would if they had to.
So Coombes decided to exit the vehicle and was arrested.
“What are you doing with my property?” he asked as deputies led him to the backseat of a cruiser. “Before I move, I want to know what you’re doing with my property.”
At this point, the deputies are clearly still unsure what he’s referring to when he says “my property.”
One holds up a three-ring binder he had been pulling documents out of and asks: “Are you talking about this?”
“I’m talking about my daughter,” Coombes said.
“Are you referring to your daughter as property?” the deputy asked.
“Yes, I am,” Coombes said.
“Ok, well, your daughter, your daughter – who’s a human being – is being taken into protective custody per the writ of habeas corpus,” the deputy said.
After the officers removed the girl from Coombes’ vehicle, as they waited for transport for her, one of them said: “We’re going to get you to a place less obnoxious than this here pretty soon, ok?”
“You’re definitely not property, ok, sweetheart?” another deputy said.
I learned about this alleged “cult” in Tonasket just recently. So I asked a few people I trust in Okanogan County about the group. What I heard back was not good.
After watching the video of Coombes and Ross’ arrests and the child's recovery, I reached out to Syran Warner, the journalist who has been following “The Body” for years now.
I asked him for a quick rundown of the organization and what the people of North Central Washington need to know about it. We talked about the leader, a man named Marc Bisset, and the group's origins.
“It formed out of a bible study in Alaska in 2003 when the cult leader, Marc Bisset, showed up,” he said. “He was sort of invited to the group. He took over the group, and he was like this prophet with all these teachings he learned from this church in Texas that he came from.”
Warner said Bisset quickly became something like a deity in his mind and the minds of his followers.
“He spoke the words of God,” Warner said. “He asked people to record his speech because it could be scripture in the future. It was a weird group before he showed up, and it quickly, in my opinion, turned into what I would call a cult,” he said.
Warner said that he doesn’t think The Body is a danger to average folks in North Central Washington. He said, “they’re very into guns,” but “the abuse is mainly directed at the members.”
My Two Cents
The video of Coombes’ arrest is hard to watch, whether you’re a parent or not. But I’m the father of three daughters, and thinking of them as property is repugnant.
Warner said that both Coombes’ daughters are back with their mother now and that’s a great outcome, and I agree. I hope they find some peace and happiness with her from here on out.
But this is just the beginning of my reporting on “The Body,” and I think bringing this organization out into the light is in the public interest. If any of my fellow members of the NCW media establishment would like to join me, jump right in.
I’d also like to commend the Okanogan County Sheriff’s Office for handling this situation. From the first deputy to the last, they showed professionalism and tried to deescalate the situation whenever possible. Their concern for the child was also apparent throughout the ordeal, which shows if you watch the footage, especially at the end.
I’ll be looking into “The Body” and its impact on North Central Washington more in the future, but for now, if you’d like to learn more about it, check out this short documentary produced by Warner.