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Authorities there say she called an adoption agency in June 2005, threatening to abandon her baby and commit suicide. But there was no baby. Swinton has no children, the Denver Post reported, and she later pleaded guilty to filing a false report.

The fugitive warrant for Swinton apparently was related to her failure to abide by terms of her sentence in that case. Authorities in Colorado Springs told the Post that a series of February phone calls by Swinton, claiming to be an abused child locked in a basement, caused a frantic, fruitless search for the non-existent victim.

Swinton came to the attention of Texas officials after anti-polygamy advocates with an Arizona-based organization said they also received similar calls from "Sarah," which police then traced to Swinton, who appears to have been obsessed with the FLDS sect.

Texas Rangers "confiscated tons of material on the FLDS" from Swinton's home, Child Protection Project founder Linda Walker told the Houston Chronicle.

THE ORIGINS OF Swinton's alleged interest in the FLDS sect are unclear, although the subject of polygamy have been the focus of intense media publicity in recent years, including Big Love, an HBO series about a fictional Utah clan now in its second season.

FLDS is an offshoot of Mormonism that has been repeatedly condemned by the mainstream LDS (Mormon) church, which disavowed polygamy in 1890. The fundamentalist splinter group took root along the Arizona-Utah border in the 1930s, which was the site of the infamous 1953 "Short Creek Raid" in which 263 FLDS children were seized by Arizona authorities.

The sect's current leader, Warren Jeffs, was once named one of the FBI's Most Wanted fugitives. The son of Rulon Jeffs -- the longtime FLDS "prophet" who died in 2002 -- Warren Jeffs was convicted last fall on charges of being an accomplice to rape, after authorities say he forced a 14-year-old girl to marry her 19-year-old cousin.

The manhunt for Jeffs was part of a legal crackdown on polygamy that produced nationwide media attention, fueled in large measure by former FLDS members who have testified to widespread abuse within the sect. One ex-FLDS woman, Carolyn Jessop, last year published a bestselling memoir of her experiences and was featured on a November episode of Oprah.

"Jessop" and "Barlow" are common family names among FLDS members -- when Dale Barlow was indicted in 2005, two other Barlows and a Jessop were indicted along with him.

If Swinton's reported obsession with the sect led her to make hoax calls to the Texas hotline, the name "Sarah Jessop Barlow" might sound authentic enough to fool even experts on FLDS.

DURING TWO DAYS of hearings in Texas, however, the subject of the Colorado hoaxer was never raised. On Friday, District Court Judge Barbara Walther granted state officials custody of all 416 minor children seized from the Eldorado ranch, saying the children were in danger of abuse.

Even as state-appointed guardians were taking custody of the FLDS children, however, reports of Swinton's history of hoaxes caused Internet newshounds to begin researching the Colorado woman. Blogger "DRJ" at Patterico.com made the shocking discovery that Swinton is listed as a pledged delegate for Sen. Barack Obama at next month's state convention of the Colorado Democratic Party.

That surprise twist led to some mordant political humor -- Rusty Shackleford of The Jawa Report noted that if Swinton was "Sarah," the hoax wouldn't be the first "fake but accurate" tale spun by a Democrat -- but serious legal questions surround the FLDS custody case.

The Texas chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union issued a statement questioning "whether the current proceedings adequately protect the fundamental rights of the mothers and children."

After police first swooped down on the Eldorado ranch, the raid was compared to the deadly 1993 raid on another Texas cult compound, David Koresh's Branch Davidian sect near Waco. If it turns out that the FLDS raid was the result of a bogus call from Swinton, however, other comparisons -- to the McMartin Preschool case or the Duke University rape hoax -- may be more appropriate.

topics:
Barack Obama, Law