A PARAMEDIC has opened up on the horror state that disgraced YouTuber Ruby Franke’s abused children were found during their rescue.

Maddee Ickes was one of the brave first responders who saved two young children from being starved, beaten, and chained up by their own mother.

Franke, 42, was a successful YouTuber who had nearly 2.5 million subscribers for her channel 8 Passengers at the height of her popularity.

A devout Mormon, she gained a significant following for her slice-of-life content as a mom of six living in Utah.

However, fans began to feel disturbed by Franke when they noticed her strict parenting took a dark turn.

A stand-out moment for former followers was when she sent her then-5-year-old daughter to school without lunch because the little girl forgot to pack it herself.

Following calls for Franke to be kicked off the platform, 8 Passengers was deleted, but Franke continued to make content with her business partner Jodi Hildebrandt.

Hildebrandt is a certified counselor who gave advice on Christian motherhood for her business ConneXions, with the help of Franke.

SHOCK ARREST

In August 2023, the pair was arrested after Franke’s 12-year-old son escaped Hildebrandt’s home in St. George, two hours northeast of Las Vegas, and begged neighbors for food.

The neighbors called 911 for help, and first responders arrived to find the emaciated boy with deep wounds on his wrists and ankles and cuts on his back.

His 9-year-old sister was found in Hildebrandt’s home in a similar condition, and the paramedics tried to talk to the children and make them feel safe.

Speaking for the first time since the call, first responder Ickes, who works with Santa Clara-Ivin Fire & Rescue, described the moment she realized there was something dark going on in Hildebrandt’s home.

“We just get the hand that we’re dealt, and we show up and we do our job no matter what cards those are,” she told CBS affiliate KUTV.

“There was a lot more depth to the call than what I had imagined.”

In police bodycam footage of the rescue, Ickes could be seen getting emotional while working with the little boy.

She said this was because he seemed “OK” despite his horrific circumstances.

“He was so brave and so stoic,” she told the outlet.

“To see him appear to be so OK was like a punch to the face.”

‘HIT CLOSER TO HOME’

Devin Hill, the captain of the fire squad, helped to organize the first responders who came to the scene that day.

“It definitely was one of the calls that kind of hits closer to home,” he said.

Hill said they initially took in the little boy, known as R in police docs, and didn’t find his sister until hours later.

“We unbuttoned his shirt checking to see for any other injuries after cutting the bandages off his wrists and ankles,” he said.

“I mean he was very skinny.”

His little sister, known as E, was discovered in a closet in Hildebrandt’s home and was hesitant to come with first responders.

For hours, Ickes sat with talking with her until she felt safe enough to leave the home.

“The last thing I wanted to do was to take any more power away from her,” the paramedic said.

“I wanted it be her decision to leave. We didn’t want to pick her up and run out, that’s traumatizing.”

Bodycam footage showed Ickes asking the little girl whether she made her feel nervous, and reassuring her that nothing bad was going to happen.

In her words, the paramedic, “bridged a connection” to “make it apparent that I wasn’t a threat.”

To this day, Ickes said she still thinks about little E.

MOM SENTENCED

In December, Franke and Hildebrandt pleaded guilty to four counts of aggravated child abuse and will spend between four and 30 years behind bars.

At her sentencing, Franke apologized to the court, her husband, and her children and thanked law enforcement for intervening.

“I will never stop crying for hurting your tender souls,” she told her children in court.

“I’m sorry for twisting God’s words and distorting his doctrine.

“My willingness to sacrifice all for you was masterfully manipulated into something very ugly. I took from you all that was soft and safe and good.

“I am willing to serve a prison sentence as long as it takes to unravel what I believed.”