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Updated 2:06 PM- SAN ANGELO, Texas -- Several buses loaded with FLDS women and children today left Fort Concho headed for the much-larger San Angelo Coliseum.

As buses rolled out early this afternoon, the passengers smiled and waved at bystanders. One girl shook her head "no."

Groups of women and children could be seen in front of the shelters at the fort, where many of the 416 children from the polygamous FLDS ranch in nearby Eldorado have been staying since the state raided the ranch early this month. Officials have said they suspected the children were being sexually and physically abused.

The children are in state custody, but the 139 women who have been staying with them are there at their own choosing. Many carried matching royal blue bags, presumably holding their belongings.

Marissa Gonzales, a spokeswoman for Texas Child Protective Services, said only that "we are in the process of moving. We simply are not going to release any details about the move until it's complete."

The agency also canceled a press briefing that had been scheduled for this afternoon, but officials said they would have a statement after the move is complete.

The buses, which carry about two dozen people, were led by about eight motorcycle police officers and followed by an EMT vehicle and three police cars. More were being loaded after that convoy.

The San Angelo Coliseum is close to the city's Wells Fargo Pavilion, where other women and children are housed.

The shelters at Fort Concho were crowded, as cell-phone pictures from inside revealed over the weekend. On Friday, three women sent a letter to Texas Gov. Rick Perry, asking him to intervene and return their children. The women, who said the children in custody were being "traumatized," said they had returned on April 9 to their "empty, ransacked homes, heartsick and lonely" back on the ranch.

Perry's spokeswoman, Allison Castle, said the governor had not yet received the letter, so he would not respond to it.

He did say he had "full faith and confidence" in the Texas Department of Public Safety and Child Protective Services and would leave the matter in their hands. Perry added that officials are doing all they can to ensure the children are safe.