After sealing off the retreat of the polygamist sect led by Warren Jeffs yesterday, the Child Protective Services (CPS) inspectors have removed 52 girls from the 1,900-acre ranch about 260km (160 miles) north-west of the Texan town of San Antonio.

Eighteen of the girls removed from the 400-member ranch community are aged between 6 months and 17 and were put in a state of custody because it appeared they "had been abused or were at immediate risk of future abuse." The rest of the young girls are being found foster homes.

Authorities said none of the 52 girls would be returning to the retreat build about four years ago by the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS). About half of them were interviewed by welfare officials after being removed from the YFZ Ranch, as the members of the polygamist community called it.

"We're dealing with children that aren't accustomed to the outside world, so we're trying to be very sensitive to their needs," said Marleigh Meisner, spokeswoman for Texas Child Protective Services.

The investigation into the safety of the children living at the ranch was initiated after Child Protective Services were notified by someone that a 16-year-old girl had suffered physical abuse.

Investigators were searching for a 16-year-old girl who allegedly gave birth to a child after marrying to a 50-year-old man, The San Antonio Times said. The girl hasn’t been found yet and authorities are currently searching for her 50-year-old husband Dale Barlow.

Authorities said the ranch's residents were very cooperative and assisted the investigators in their search. No one was arrested.

The Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS) bought approximately 1,900 acres near Eldorado about four years ago. There they build the ranch and called it the YFZ Ranch. About 400 members of the church were relocated from their Arizona and Utah compounds to the YFZ Ranch.

Since 2002, when his father died, the community has been led by Warren Jeffs. It’s one of the several religious groups which spread from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints after the Mormon Church renounced polygamy in 1890.

Jeffs, the 52-year-old leader and "prophet" of the 10,000-member church, was later convicted for involvement in the rape of a 14-year-old girl in 2001, the year when she wed her cousin in an arranged marriage. In Utah, he was sentenced for to two consecutive sentences of five years to life in prison.

In Arizona, Jeffs also faces charges as an accomplice of incest and sexual conduct with a minor stemming from two arranged marriages similar to that above mentioned. He is now behind bars the Mohave County Jail in Kingman, Ariz., awaiting trial.