Dozens of missing children, some as young as just one year old, rescued from sex traffickers in massive sting

More than three dozen missing children in North Florida have been rescued from sex traffickers after a massive attack.

The US Marshal’s Office reported that 43 missing children were found in 14 counties within the scope of the rescue effort called Operation Northern Lights, and more children were found in other states. announced Thursday.

The youngest victims were one year old, and one of the younger victims was trafficked from Florida and placed in Louisiana, federal authorities said.

Nine people were arrested following the surprising operation, which law enforcement said took two weeks to carry out.

Additional charges may include human trafficking, child endangerment, and custodial interference.

The sting uncovered missing children in North Florida as well as in Tennessee, Mississippi and Louisiana.

‘This was the most successful missing child operation ever conducted in North Florida,’ said Acting U.S. Marshal for the Northern District of Florida, Greg Leljedal.

‘Thanks to the tireless dedication of the U.S. Marshals Service and our law enforcement partners, 43 endangered children will now be safe at home through the holidays.’

He said his mission was ‘not only to find missing children, but also to provide immediate physical and psychological care to help them begin the path to recovery.’

The victims included a one-year-old child who authorities said was lost in Leon County and was found in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Another one-year-old missing from Okaloosa County has been found outside of Jackson, Mississippi, along with a 17-year-old boy.

In this case, a ‘non-custodial adult’ was arrested for interfering with the child’s custody.

Other rescues listed by the U.S. Marshals Service included a 17-year-old juvenile missing in Suwannee County located in Meadville, Mississippi, a 13-year-old juvenile missing in Suwannee County located in Jacksonville, and a 15-year-old juvenile found in Okaloosa County in Ocala.

The U.S. Marshals Service said the complexity of the sting ‘hadn’t been done before in North Florida until this month.’

More than 80 employees from 25 different agencies in law enforcement, social services, law firms and non-profit organizations worked together to find children considered ‘critically missing’.

This means that minors are believed to be at high risk of violent crime or other serious harm, such as substance abuse, sexual exploitation, delinquency or domestic violence.

One of the youngest victims was a missing one-year-old child from Leon County who was rescued in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

The rescue mission, called Operation Northern Lights, took two weeks to carry out

‘Every child deserves to be safe, and we will continue to use every resource at our disposal to bring missing children home and support their families,’ said Assistant Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations Nicholas G. Ingegno.

Medical supplies and food were given to the missing children. They were also provided with social services and child advocates.

Derrick Driscoll, operations manager of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, said: ‘Each recovery represents a child rescued from harm and the opportunity to connect them with resources that can help prevent future victimization.’

The rescue mission was carried out under the Justice for Trafficking Victims Act of 2015, which allows the U.S. Marshals Service to assist other law enforcement agencies in missing child cases, officials said.

Since then, nearly 4,000 missing children have been found; This represents a hit rate of 66 percent, according to the agency.

The list of sheriff’s offices participating in the successful operation included Leon County, Escambia County, Santa Rosa County, Okaloosa County, Walton County, Bay County, Jackson County, Wakulla County, Madison County, Taylor County, Suwannee County, Alachua County and Marion County.

Randy Tifft, deputy chief of the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office, said some children were abducted by older adults.

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier vowed to ‘bring the strongest possible charges against those endangering these children’ following the attack

‘They force many of these young children to meet them via online apps,’ he said TO WEAR. ‘And many of these are children who are having problems at school or at home.’

Other law enforcement agencies contributing to the search were the Tallahassee Police Department, Pensacola Police Department and Crestview Police Department.

At the state level, the Florida Attorney General’s Office, Department of Law Enforcement, Highway Patrol, Department of Children and Families, and Department of Juvenile Justice were thanked for their work on the mission. Homeland Security Investigations also participated at the federal level.

The U.S. Marshals Service also cited the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, Called2Rescue and Shadows of Strength as advocacy groups that assisted in the attack.

“This operation was accomplished through a strong partnership between multiple agencies,” said Sheriff Walt McNeil. ‘No child will be left behind.’

The mission was praised on social media by Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier. to post In X.

He wrote: ‘Our office was honored to partner with U.S. Marshal Greg Leljedal of the Northern District of Florida to rescue 43 missing children, some as young as 18 months old. ‘We will bring the most severe charges possible against those who endanger these children.’