CPS relocates 416 youths seized from polygamous sect

Texas Child Protective Services moved 416 children Monday from a West Texas historical park to two other locations in preparation for a hearing that could decide whether the youths should be put in foster homes across the state.

Five charter buses and five paramedic ambulances moved into the Fort Concho National Historical Landmark around noon Monday to retrieve the children, who earlier this month were taken from a polygamist sect's compound.

The move came without public notice, but it had been in the works since last week, said Patrick Crimmins, spokesman for the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services.

Fort Concho, a fort from the 1880s, always had been seen as a temporary home until better facilities could be found for the group, he said. The move came the same day it was reported that several women from the group sent a letter to Gov. Rick Perry complaining of conditions at the fort.