From Deseret News archives:

FLDS-raid timeline

Published: Sunday, April 13, 2008 1:02 a.m. MDT
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Saturday, March 29: Texas authorities say a 16-year-old girl called a child protective services hotline, alleging that her husband beat and raped her and that she was pregnant with a second child. She said she lived on the secretive YFZ Ranch, the site of the Fundamentalist LDS Church's first-ever temple.

Thursday, April 3: Armed with a warrant, authorities enter the YFZ Ranch to investigate.

Friday, April 4: Buses escort children from the YFZ Ranch (named for a song by FLDS leader Warren Jeffs titled "Yearning for Zion") as law enforcement continues to search the compound. By the end of the evening, 167 children had been removed. Many are housed at the civic center near Eldorado, where cribs and cots are set up.

Saturday, April 5: Women willingly leave the YFZ Ranch to join the children who were removed from the compound. The search continues on the ranch for more children.

Sunday, April 6: The people taken from the ranch are bused to San Angelo, 50 miles from Eldorado. They are housed at historic Fort Concho.

Monday, April 7: Texas Child Protective Services workers announce that 401 children have been taken from the YFZ Ranch. The number later grows to 416.

Story continues below
Tuesday, April 8: Court documents reveal details about the girl's phone call that sparked the raid, and authorities allege they found a "widespread practice" of abuse centering on child-bride marriages. After a confrontation with FLDS faithful outside the temple, authorities breach the doors and search. Two men are arrested. The FBI arrives.

Wednesday, April 9: In a search warrant, authorities reveal they found beds inside the FLDS temple and suggest that it is an area where men "engage in sexual activity with female children under the age of 17."

Thursday, April 10: Dale Evans Barlow, named in an arrest warrant associated with the case, tells the Deseret News that he doesn't know the girl he's accused of marrying. Authorities finish searching the YFZ Ranch. FLDS mothers say they are not allowed to see their children.

Friday, April 11: Search warrant returns released in court reveal that authorities seized numerous items, including medical files, records related to Warren Jeffs, photographs, papers, letters and other items. Utah's attorney general tells the Deseret News the information may be key to his investigations into Jeffs and the FLDS Church.

Saturday, April 12: Dale Barlow is interviewed in St. George by Texas investigators but not taken into custody. The Deseret News is given a tour of the YFZ Ranch and interviews adults there and at Fort Concho.

Recent comments

This is the most horrific violation of human rights I have ever known...

Cathy Clark | May 2, 2008 at 7:32 p.m.

1. The phone call from the 16 year old is probably a prank call.
2....

Derrick | April 13, 2008 at 11:56 a.m.

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