FBI Confirms 10 Missing Children, Teens Rescued in Hawaii Joint Operation

Around 18 percent of missing children in 2024 were ‘likely victims’ of sex trafficking, officials have said.

An FBI agent at the Department of Justice in Washington on Feb. 12, 2025. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times

State and federal authorities announced on Thursday that an operation in Hawaii resulted in the rescue of 10 missing children and teens earlier this month.

The FBI’s Honolulu office, in a post on X, said that a joint operation with local and state law enforcement officials “assisted in the safe location and recoveries of 10 children and youth as part of Operation Shine the Light.”

“In addition, Several arrests were made, child victims were identified and investigations are ongoing,” the FBI statement said, describing the operation as one that seeks to find endangered missing children and youth who were reported as runaways across the island of Oahu.

The operation, it added, also seeks to “provide them with essential services and care” and “deter bad actors from victimizing missing children” on the island.

A news release issued by the Hawaii Attorney General’s office said that the children and youth who were found are between the ages of 13 and 18. The number of arrests that were made in connection to the operation was not disclosed.

As of Friday morning, the Hawaii Department of Human Services listed 26 missing children across the state.

Hawaii’s Attorney General Anne Lopez expressed appreciation for the assistance.

“I want to acknowledge and thank all our dedicated federal, military, state and county law enforcement and community partners whose collaboration and tireless efforts made this mission a success,” she said in a statement.

Under the federal 2014 Preventing Sex Trafficking and Strengthening Families Act, state social service agencies are required to report abducted or missing children to law enforcement officials or the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) within 24 hours of learning whether a child is missing.

The NCMEC said that around 18 percent of missing children in 2024 were “likely victims” of sex trafficking, according to the center’s website.

Amanda Leonard, the coordinator for Missing Child Center-Hawaii, told local news station KHON-TV in a video interview that “the reasons why children run away are multifaceted,” adding that “they may have a substance abuse issue. They may have an older boyfriend or an older girlfriend. They may have met someone online.”

Last week, FBI Director Kash Patel said during a White House event alongside President Donald Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi that some 5,400 children have been rescued by federal officials, while 28,000 violent criminals have been arrested across multiple operations in the United States so far this year.

In a post on Truth Social earlier this week, Trump said that since Jan. 20, more than 1,700 child predators have been arrested, around 5,000 children have been rescued, and 300 human traffickers have been “taken off the streets.”

The Trump administration has surged federal agents and National Guard members to multiple major U.S. cities, including Washington, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Memphis, as part of a crime and immigration crackdown. Last week, Trump indicated he would send troops to San Francisco but later revealed that he reversed that decision.

“I got a great call from some incredible people, some friends of mine, very successful people,” Trump told reporters on Thursday at the White House.

Those individuals told him San Francisco was working hard to reduce crime, he added.

“So we are holding off that surge, everybody. And we’re going to let them see if they can do it,” Trump said.

He said he could change his mind if it “doesn’t work out.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.