When the FLDS first purchased the property, a church agent said it would be used as a corporate hunting retreat. That story was soon challenged by area pilots who flew over the ranch and said huge dormitory houses were under construction at the site, none of which looked like corporate hunting retreat material.

The FLDS agent, Allen Steed, then revealed the reason he gave for purchasing the ranch was merely a ruse intended to keep the public and news media out of church business. Ever since Steed admitted he lied about the church's intentions for the land, public interest has skyrocketed in the FLDS property.

"If they wanted to be left alone, that didn't help their cause very much," said Schleicher County Sheriff David Doran after hearing the explanation. Doran soon leaped headlong into learning all he could about the FLDS and its people, including taking several trips to Washington County and Colorado City.

When it comes to the veracity of doomsday predictions, Doran said he's not buying any of it.

"Down here in Texas, we're aware of what they're saying about April 6. I do not expect anything at all to happen, though," the sheriff said. "What I do expect is a lot of media interest. The biggest thing that might happen may be a gathering on the ranch of the faithful for a temple dedication."

Doran said he speaks often with sources on the FLDS ranch, which Jeffs named the YFZ Ranch after a song he wrote titled "Yearn for Zion."

Construction on the ranch has been nonstop for many months, the sheriff added, and there is no indication that those who occupy the land are planning to leave it anytime soon.

"They continue to get their trash hauled to the landfill, and their wastewater hauled to the county's wastewater treatment plant," Doran said. "That tells me they're planning on sticking around."

Doran said he is negotiating with his source inside the YFZ ranch to allow him access to the property on Wednesday.

"The main reason I want to be there is to deflate all this hype and concern," Doran said, adding that he and a deputy would be happy to park their truck under a nearby tree for the day. "Our vigilance will be geared toward outside interest on the ranch rather than what's going on inside the ranch."

Both Doran and Smith said an investigator with the Utah Attorney General's Office has expressed concern about April 6.

"I trust our intelligence more than theirs," Smith said. "We're the ones on the front lines. We're going to continue doing what we think is best."

Colorado City Police Chief Sam Roundy, who is no longer certified by Utah to work the Utah side of the border town, said the rumors are "ludicrous."

"This rumor will go by just like all the other ones we keep hearing about," said Roundy, who is a member of the FLDS church. "None of these predictions or dates that are given about the end of the world is coming from the FLDS church authorities. It's a bunch of nonsense. The scriptures say that no man knows the time or day of the Lord's coming. These rumors are not coming from here."

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E-mail: nperkins@desnews.com