The U.S. Marshals Service located 225 missing children during a 10-week sex trafficking operation dubbed “Operation We Will Find You.”
The U.S. Marshals recovered 169 children and safely located another 59.
There are 28 cases referred to “law enforcement agencies for further investigation of crimes such as drugs and weapons, sex trafficking, and sex offender violations.”
The youngest child rescued was just six months old.
As The Daily Mail reported:
“At least 28 of the cases involving these children have been recommended to other law enforcement agencies to investigate attached crimes, including sex offenses and drugs, weapons, and sex trafficking.
“The cases closed out during Operation We Will Find You comprised 86 percent of endangered runaways and nine percent of family abductions.”
“The U.S. Marshals Service is fully committed to the important mission of protecting the American people, especially our most vulnerable population – our children,” said Ronald Davis, Director of the Marshals Service.
The high-profile bust also nabbed a couple that was on the Top 15 Most Wanted list who had fled to Mexico with their five children.
Those five kids were among ten who were found outside the United States in Mexico during the bust.
Thirty-five children were recovered in Northern Ohio, with another 30 discovered in West Texas.
Three missing children were said to be victims of child sex trafficking, sexual abuse, and physical abuse.
The operation focused on the following locations:
Eastern Virginia
Washington D.C.
Maryland
Massachusetts
South Carolina
New Orleans
San Antonio
Detroit
Yakima
Washington
Orlando
Florida
Los Angeles
Northern Ohio
Guam
Puerto Rico
The U.S. Virgin Islands
Ten endangered children were tracked down in Mexico.
“Law enforcement reported allegations of trafficking in over 40 cases the U.S. Marshals Service assisted with,” the U.S. Marshals Service said in a statement. “Of the cases closed, 86% were endangered runaways, nearly 9% were family abductions, and 5% were considered otherwise missing.”
Regarding missing children, 62% were recovered within seven days after the U.S. Marshals Service got involved.
“The U.S. Marshals Service is fully committed to the important mission of protecting the American people, especially our most vulnerable population – our children,” said Ronald Davis, Director of the U.S. Marshals Service.
“The results of this operation underscore that commitment but also highlight the necessity of these critical efforts.”
“Our continued success can only be achieved through our collaboration with state and local law enforcement agencies and partnership with NCMEC. Together, the USMS and NCMEC have recovered over 3,100 missing children since the passage of the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act in 2015.”
“Operation We Will Find You is a great example of how the U.S. Marshals Service continues to prioritize child protection,” NCMEC President & CEO Michelle DeLaune. “
NCMEC is proud of our long-standing partnership with the USMS and commends them and the participating state and local agencies who helped recover the 225 endangered missing children.”
Last year, over 150 missing children who were victims of human trafficking were rescued in North Carolina.
Another 150 missing and endangered children were recovered in Tennessee in March 2022 during “Operation Volunteer Strong,” a joint mission by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, the Department of Children’s Service, and the U.S. Marshals Service.
READ: 50 Arrested in Human Trafficking Bust Including Teacher, Pastor, and Hospital Director
