Tally of FLDS children jumps from 416 to 437

SAN ANGELO, Texas — As authorities collect DNA samples from children taken from the Fundamentalist LDS Church's YFZ Ranch, child welfare workers raised their head count of kids in state protective custody.

The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services confirmed to the Deseret News late Monday that 437 FLDS children are now being housed at the San Angelo Coliseum, along with 95 mothers. That number is up by 21 from the 416 children that child welfare workers have repeatedly reported over the past two weeks.

"We've been able to get a better count now that we're over here at the coliseum," said Shari Pulliam, a spokeswoman for the Texas child protective services. "You can imagine with these many people and different locations, it was hard to get an exact count."

Pulliam defended the earlier numbers, saying that it was difficult to get an accurate count.

"You've got mothers with babies in cots, but not everybody's lying down at the exact same time," she said. "Some are in the restroom at times when you're counting. Some people are in the shower. There's a lot of different things going on at the same time."

Pulliam said getting accurate information from the FLDS people at the makeshift shelter has also been a problem.

"We were told a different name, different birth date every time we asked," she said, admitting that the numbers could change again.

DNA samples

This morning, parents of the children taken from the YFZ Ranch are expected to show up at the Schleicher County Memorial Building in Eldorado to give DNA samples. Authorities say it will help determine paternity and maternity in the nation's biggest-ever child custody case.

"The court finds that an unknown number of males of reproductive age reside, or have resided, at the ranch during the probable time of conception of one or more of the children (who are) the subject of this suit," Judge Barbara Walther said in an order signed Monday. "The court further finds that an unknown number of females of childbearing age reside, or have resided at the ranch and could be the mother of one or more children (who are) the subject of this suit."

The judge's order lists the hundreds of names of parents and children who are known to have resided at the YFZ Ranch, including FLDS leader Warren Jeffs, whom it lists as being in "prison." Jeffs was convicted in Utah of rape as an accomplice for performing a marriage between a 14-year-old girl and her 19-year-old cousin. He is currently incarcerated in Arizona, where he faces similar charges.