Marshals Service Rescues More Than 40 Missing Children

The victims range in age from 1.5 to 17 years old.

Members of the U.S. Marshals Service monitor in a file photograph. Victor J. Blue/Getty Images

The U.S. Marshals Service and numerous Florida law enforcement agencies rescued 43 critically missing children across multiple states, a Thursday press release said.

The rescued children were found in Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, and across 14 counties in Florida, according to the Marshals Service. The victims were identified as critically missing because of potentially violent situations they may face or other concerning circumstances, like substance abuse, sexual exploitation, and domestic violence.

“We will bring the strongest charges possible against those who put these kids in harm’s way,” Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier said in a press release.

Nine individuals were arrested and face potential human trafficking, child endangerment, or custodial interference charges. Dubbed “Operation Northern Lights,” this two-week initiative that began in early December became the largest of its kind in North Florida history, with federal, state, and local officers working alongside social workers, medical personnel, and nonprofit organizations.

“This was the most successful missing child operation ever conducted in Northern Florida,” acting U.S. Marshal for the Northern District of Florida Greg Leljedal said in the Marshals Service’s statement. “Forty-three endangered children will now be home safe for the holidays.”

The victims range in age from 1.5 to 17 years old.

More than 80 personnel from 25 different agencies were involved in locating and recovering the endangered children, providing them with medical and psychological services, and finding appropriate placement for them.

“Operations like Northern Lights show the importance of coordinated efforts to locate missing children,” said Derrick Driscoll, chief operating officer of the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.

The 2015 passing of the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act enhanced the Marshals Service’s authority to collaborate with other law enforcement agencies to help recover missing, endangered, or abducted children, regardless of whether a sex offender or fugitive was involved. The agency has located or recovered more than 3,967 missing children since the legislation was passed, the press release said.

The Marshals Service highlighted some of the more concerning rescues in Operation Northern Lights.

One case involved a one-year-old child missing from Leon County, Florida, and found in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

A one-year-old child and a 17-year-old went missing out of Okaloosa County, Florida, and were found outside Jackson, Mississippi.

Another 17-year-old child was found in Meadville, Mississippi, after going missing in Suwannee County, Florida.

The investigations into the missing children remain ongoing, and charges will be announced against once they’re filed, the Florida attorney general said.

Florida agencies, including the Attorney General’s Office; the Department of Law Enforcement; Highway Patrol; the Department of Children and Families; the Department of Juvenile Justice; and police departments for Crestview, Pensacola, and Tallahassee; county sheriff’s offices for Alachua, Bay, Escambia, Jackson, Leon, Madison, Marion, Okaloosa, Santa Rosa, Suwannee, Taylor, Wakulla, and Walton were involved in the operation alongside Homeland Security, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, Called2Rescue, and Shadows of Strength.