More than three dozen missing children were rescued from sex traffickers in North Florida after a massive sting.
The rescue effort, named Operation Northern Lights, found 43 missing children across 14 counties with more children found in other states, the US Marshals Service announced Thursday.
Federal authorities said the youngest victims were one-year-olds and that one of the young victims had been abducted from Florida and located in Louisiana.
Nine people were arrested after the staggering operation, which law enforcement said took two weeks to conduct.
Additional charges could include human trafficking, child endangerment and custodial interference.
The sting turned up additional missing children in North Florida, but also in Tennessee, Mississippi and Louisiana.
‘This was the most successful missing child operation ever conducted in Northern Florida,’ Greg Leljedal, acting US Marshal for the Northern District of Florida, said.
‘Because of the tireless dedication of the U.S. Marshals and our law enforcement partners, 43 endangered children will now be home safe for the holidays.’
Operation “Northern Lights”
Click the red dots to reveal who U.S. Marshals found at each location
He said the mission was ‘not only about finding the missing children, but also providing immediate physical and psychological care to help them begin the path to healing’.
The victims included a one–year–old who authorities said was missing from Leon County and had been found in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Another one–year–old missing out of Okaloosa County was found outside Jackson, Mississippi, alongside a 17–year–old.
In that case, a ‘non–custodial adult’ was arrested for interference with child custody.
Other recoveries listed by the US Marshals Service were a 17–year–old missing out of Suwannee County found in Meadville, Mississippi, a 13–year–old missing out of Suwannee County found in Jacksonville and a 15–year–old out of Okaloosa County found in Ocala.
The US Marshals Service said the complexity of the sting had ‘not been previously undertaken in Northern Florida until this month’.
More than 80 workers from 25 different agencies across law enforcement, social services, attorney’s offices and nonprofit organizations worked together to find the children, who were considered ‘critically missing.’
That means that the minors are believed to face an elevated risk of violent crime or other serious harm, such as substance abuse, sexual exploitation, crime exposure or domestic violence.
‘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,’ Nicholas G. Ingegno, Homeland Security Investigations Assistant Special Agent in Charge, said.
The missing children were given medical resources and food. They were also provided with social services and child advocates.
Derrick Driscoll, the chief operating officer of the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, said: ‘Each recovery represents a child removed from harm’s way and an opportunity to connect them with resources that can help prevent future victimization.’
Authorities said the rescue mission was carried out under the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act of 2015, which allowed the US Marshals Service to assist other law enforcement agencies in missing child cases.
Nearly 4,000 missing children have been found since then, marking a 66 percent hit rate, per the agency.
The list of sheriff’s offices involved 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.
Santa Rosa County Sheriff Office chief deputy Randy Tifft said some of the children had been taken by older adults.
‘They coerce a lot of these young kids on online apps to meet up with them,’ he told WEAR. ‘And a lot of them are kids that are having some troubles in schools or troubles at home.’
Other law enforcement agencies that contributed 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 in the mission. Homeland Security Investigations also participated on a federal level.
The US Marshals Service also credited the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, Called2Rescue and Shadows of Strength as advocacy groups that aided in the sting.
‘This operation was carried out through a strong partnership between multiple agencies,’ Sheriff Walt McNeil said. ‘No child will be left behind.’
The mission was lauded by Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier in a social post on X.
He wrote: ‘Our office was honored to partner with U.S. Marshal Greg Leljedal in the Northern District of Florida to rescue 43 missing children, some as young as 18 months old. We will bring the strongest charges possible against those who put these kids in harm’s way.’