ELDORADO, Texas - As Richard Barlow walked eight of his children to a bus that would take them away from the YFZ Ranch, he gave each one advice.
    "I spoke very freely. I said, 'Let us be at peace,' " he said.
    And: "Be strong."
    That was a month ago. Today his children are scattered from one end of Texas to the other and he and his wife, Susan, are desperate to see them.
    Only a few men who lived with their families at the ranch, all members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, have spoken out since the April 3 raid that led to removal of 464 children because of abuse allegations. Most fear doing so will make them targets of prosecution or hamper their efforts to bring their children home.
    But Barlow, 40, decided to take that risk to share how the event has torn apart his family.
    Barlow, a college graduate, was 23 when he married 20-year-old Susan, his legal wife. Their first child, a daughter, is now 15. Seven more children followed, ages 4 to 13.
    He has two plural wives, according to court documents, both of whom his attorney says were 18 when they married. One woman has five children. The other has none.
    As Texas authorities swept through the ranch, Barlow and his family watched and waited at their home. "It was an exercise on me to calm my own feelings," he said.
    The family packed bags for the children and, finally, officers came to their door April 6.
    Barlow said he told the armed rangers he opposed the search and wanted a lawyer. Even so, he told the officers, "I am at peace, we are at peace."
    His family then did as told, gathering the children and walking them to the buses.
    Susan went with her children but early on was separated from five of them. She stayed at the San Angelo Coliseum with the youngest: Arta Mae, 7; Rulon, 5; and Joseph, 4.
    Four daughters - Lydia, 15; Vera, 13; Lola, 10; and Viola, 8 Ð were put in the Wells Fargo Pavilion in San Angelo. Edward, 11, was sent to Cal Farley's Boys Ranch.
    On April 24, Susan was among the women sent away as the state prepared to move the children to group homes. She said her youngest clung to her skirt and pleaded to stay with her.
    Texas Child Protective Services initially pledged it would keep siblings together, but later acknowledged that has not happened in every case. The eight Barlow children are in five different locations, ranging from Cal Farley's in Amarillo to Kidz Harbor in Liverpool. While Vera and Viola are at the Baptist children's ranch in Gonzales, Lola is an hour away at Boysville in San Antonio.
    "Lydia, Edward and Lola are each alone, without a sibling to comfort them," Barlow said.
    The couple said they gave the state accurate names and birth dates for all of their children. And later they submitted DNA samples.
    "We have nothing to hide," said Susan, 37.
    But Barlow does have a plural family, which is something he declines to discuss in any detail.
    As for underage marriage, neither he nor Susan supports it and both believe their own children should be adults before they marry. "Underage marriage is not one of our doctrines or covenants," he said.
    Barlow said he is "baffled and confused" about CPS methods and feels "I have to pray over everything I receive from CPS to even understand whether it is true or another gimmick," he said.
    As the Barlows work to see their children, other FLDS parents have begun fanning out across Texas. Many are relocating to cities where their children are now living in hopes of being able to see them regularly.
    Over the weekend, more vehicles left the ranch, loaded with suitcases.
    Jim, who gave only his first name as he was leaving, has five children - three boys, two girls - placed across the state. "We're going to get them back with the Lord's help," he said.
    Which is what Barlow is banking on.
    "I miss my little children but I am thankful and pray that the Lord will bless those caring over them that they will be kind and considerate," he said.