More than 30 missing children rescued in Texas human trafficking crackdown

Federal and local authorities rescued more than 30 missing children during a coordinated operation across Texas and uncovered multiple human trafficking operations targeting vulnerable youth.

The effort, headquartered in San Antonio, has led to arrests, felony convictions and multiple new investigations under a joint mission known as “Operation Lightning Bug.”

U.S. Marshals Service (USMS) teams in San Antonio, Del Rio, Midland and Pecos joined forces with the San Antonio Police Department’s Missing Persons Unit, Special Victims Unit, Street Crimes Unit and undercover agents. Together they scoured Texas and national crime databases to identify at-risk youth and coordinate recovery efforts.

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The results included:

• 3 arrests for harboring fugitives
• Nine criminal verdicts were executed
• Six sex trafficking survivors rescued and connected to support services
• Five new smuggling investigations opened
• More than 30 missing children identified
• More than 120 children voluntarily return home to clear their names from missing persons databases

Each recovered child was interviewed by SAPD’s Special Victims Unit to determine whether they were victimized. Survivors were referred to support services provided by agencies such as Health and Human Services to ensure long-term care and protection.

U.S. Marshal Susan Pamerleau of the Western District of Texas he said in a statement The protection of children remains at the heart of the Police Department’s mission.

“The safety of our children is the safety of our communities, and justice requires that we protect those who cannot protect themselves,” Pamerleau said. he said. “Through Operation Lightning Bug, we reaffirm our commitment to protect the most vulnerable and strengthen the security of our communities.”

The U.S. Marshals Service and local law enforcement are cracking down on smuggling operations. (U.S. Marshals Service, Bennie J. Davis III)

San Antonio Police Chief William McManus echoed those sentiments and praised the effort as an example of law enforcement unity.

“It is important that every suspect arrested, youth returned home and survivors removed from danger,” McManus said. “This operation shows what can be accomplished when law enforcement unites to protect children.”

The U.S. Marshals conducted the sweep under the authority of the Justice for Trafficking Victims Act of 2015, which gives the agency authority to rescue missing or endangered children even if no fugitives exist. This law also led to the creation of the USMS Missing Child Unit, which spearheaded similar recovery efforts across the country.

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The U.S. Marshals Service said protecting children remains central to its mission. (US Marshals Service)

Kirsta Leeberg-Melton, founder and CEO of the Anti-Human Trafficking Institute, said operations like this underscore the larger problem of exploitation in Texas and beyond.

“Smuggling is an issue that the city of San Antonio, the state of Texas, and the nation have been grappling with for a long time,” he said in an interview with Fox News Digital.

Traffickers often target instability, he said, meaning children without stable shelter, food or family support.

“These are easy methods that traders can take advantage of,” he warned. “They exploit these needs by offering these items and then borrowing money and putting them in a position where they can exploit children for sex or labor.”

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Leeberg-Melton said the public often underestimates how widespread human trafficking is and how sophisticated it is, especially online.

“Human trafficking is the exploitation of men, women and children by a third party for forced sex or forced labor for their own profit or gain. It has been around forever,” Leeberg-Melton said. “What’s really not around is people understanding this crime and knowing it’s happening everywhere!”

He added that traffickers are increasingly using technology to recruit and control victims.

“As technology advances, merchants are becoming early adopters and adopters of technology,” he said. “The Internet allows them to connect with victims and clients well beyond their local area.”

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Kirsta Leeberg-Melton said traffickers are increasingly using technology to prey on victims. (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

Leeberg-Melton emphasized that smuggling is not limited to border areas.

“American citizens may traffic in American citizens on American soil,” he said, adding that most trafficking cases prosecuted in the United States involve American perpetrators exploiting American victims.

“The biggest myth is that it happened somewhere else and happened to someone else,” he said. “Until we start to accept that people have value, no matter who they are, where they come from, what they have done, or what has been done to them, we will continue to excuse some level of exploitation.”

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Leeberg-Melton also described sexual blackmail as a growing form of human trafficking that uses coercion to coerce sexual behavior or imagery.

“When you have someone holding something over their head and you demand additional sexual behavior from them with additional photos or threats, that is obviously a form of human trafficking,” he said.

If you suspect someone is a victim of human trafficking, call the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888 or report anonymously to: humantraffickinghotline.org.

Stepheny Price covers crimes including missing persons, murders and immigration crime. Send story tips to stepheny.price@fox.com.