"We're dealing with children that aren't accustomed to the outside world, so we're trying to be very sensitive to their needs," Marleigh Meisner, another CPS spokesman, told the media during a press conference Saturday.

The investigation began after a 16-year-old living there complained of physical abuse. A search warrant, issued late Friday, authorized state troopers to enter the retreat and look for evidence of a marriage between the girl and Dale Barlow, 50.

The warrant said the girl had a baby eight months ago, when she was 15. Under Texas law, girls younger than 16 cannot marry, even with parental approval.

State troopers who raided the religious retreat were looking for the girl, her baby daughter and Barlow.

Barlow had not been found by Friday night, officials said then. They declined to comment Saturday, saying a state judge had issued a gag order.

The search warrant instructed officers to look for marriage records or other evidence linking the girl to Barlow and the baby. The warrant authorized the seizure of computer drives, CDs, DVDs or photos.

In a twist to the evolving story, the Salt Lake Tribune reported on its Web site Saturday that Barlow's Arizona probation officer says Barlow has regularly reported to him and that he is not allowed to leave Arizona without permission. Arizona probation officer Bill Loader was quoted as saying Barlow told him he did not know the girl who has accused him. Barlow is on probation for pleading no contest in 2007 for conspiracy to commit sexual conduct with a minor. The victim in that case was a 16-year-old girl who had a child with him.

Those inside the Texas retreat did not respond to requests for comment.

The owner of the Sutton County Steak House in nearby Sonora, Texas, fed the children dinner on Friday and breakfast on Saturday, owner Linda Love told The San Angelo Standard-Times.

"They're singing songs. So happy and sweet and precious. It's heart-breaking," Love said.

State law-enforcement officials declined to comment Saturday, and the local sheriff did not return calls to the Deseret Morning News. A message line kept by the Department of Public Services stated there would be no further updates, due to a request by the local district attorney.

The 1,700-acre YFZ Ranch is the site of the polygamous sect's first-ever temple, which was completed in 2006. "YFZ" stands for Yearning for Zion and is named after a song written by FLDS leader Warren Jeffs.

The property was initially purchased as a hunting retreat just outside of Eldorado, a community of nearly 2,000 residents 200 miles northwest of San Antonio. Local media have estimated that the FLDS ranch houses about 350 to 400 people.

The group has been led by Jeffs since his father died in 2002. In November, Jeffs was sentenced to two consecutive 5-years-to-life sentences in prison in Utah for being an accomplice to the rape of a 14-year-old girl who wed her cousin in an arranged marriage in 2001. Currently jailed in Kingman, Ariz., Jeffs faces multiple charges of sexual misconduct and incest in Arizona, which has accused him of performing more child-bride marriages. Prior to his capture, Jeffs was on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted list.

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Contributing: Geoffrey Fattah, Deseret Morning News; Associated Press

E-mail: wleonard@desnews.com