The U.S. Marshals Service located 225 missing children across the nation and beyond during a 10-week operation.
The mission dubbed “Operation We Will Find You,” resulted in the U.S. Marshals recovering 169 children and safely located another 59. There were 28 cases referred to “law enforcement agencies for further investigation of crimes such as drugs and weapons, sex trafficking, and sex offender violations.”
The smallest child found was only 6 months old.
According to reports, three missing children were victims of child trafficking, child abuse (including sexual abuse), physical abuse, and mental disorders.
The focus of the operation was on areas with a large number of “critically-missing” children. This operation concentrated in Eastern Virginia, Washington D.C.
Ten children in danger were found in Mexico.
The U.S. Marshals Service provided assistance with” the U.S. The Marshals Service has been involved in more than 40 cases.
The U.S. Marshals Service has been involved in 62% of cases of missing children.
“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.”
The U.S. Marshals Service received support from state and local agencies, as well as the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
Michelle DeLaune is the President & CEO at NCMEC. She said the US Marshals Service places a high priority on child protection. We congratulate the Marshals Service, the states, and local agencies who participated in the recovery efforts of the 225 children.
In North Carolina, in May of last year, more than 150 children who were missing were found. Some of the children were victims.
In the month of March 2022, another 150 children in Tennessee who were missing or at risk were found by “Operation Volunteer Strong”, an operation conducted jointly by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Department of Children’s Service (TBI) and the U.S. Marshals Service.
You can also call the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children by dialing 1-800-The-Lost. Call the National Center for Missing and Exposed Children at 1-800-The-Lost.
