Raleigh, NC – Every day in the United States, approximately 2,300 children go missing, with a child vanishing or being abducted every 40 seconds. Last year, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children handled nearly 29,000 cases, with a remarkable 90% resolved. However, the U.S. Marshals Service aims to increase that resolution rate to 100% through a dedicated task force focusing on recovering missing children before they are trafficked into gangs, prostitution, or worse.
NewsNation correspondent Evan Lambert joined the Marshals to witness their operations firsthand. “The U.S. Marshals are already the best-equipped federal law enforcement agency to track down fugitives,” Lambert reported. “For over a month, they used those skills to find dozens of missing and endangered children.”
Among those who understand the horrors of human trafficking is Ophelia Flores, who survived such an ordeal 40 years ago. She was treated as a criminal rather than a child victim. Now, the U.S. Marshals are committed to preventing other young people from experiencing similar trauma.
More Read
“Many of the missing children are runaways, and some become victims of trafficking and prostitution,” said a Marshal. “We have an obligation to find them.”
In early May, the Marshals, along with local law enforcement agencies, prepared to do what they do best: find missing children. Over 10 weeks, they knocked on hundreds of doors across seven cities. NewsNation was given an exclusive view of their recovery mission in Raleigh, North Carolina.
During Operation We Will Find You, the Marshals and local agencies aimed to locate a 17-year-old who was also considered missing. Despite not finding the teenager at the targeted home, the team remained undeterred. They moved on to the next target, a 15-year-old who had run away before with his older brother. Although they found only one brother, they successfully returned him to his mother.
In an exclusive interview, Ronald Davis, Director of the U.S. Marshals Service, discussed the mission’s goals. “What does success look like to you this time around?” he was asked. “Recovering as many children as we can is vital,” Davis responded.
During the mission, the Marshals found 200 children, removing 123 from dangerous situations and safely locating 77 across seven states. In one notable case, they led to the safe recovery of a 16-year-old girl from Michigan, found in Indiana with a 30-year-old man who had been abusing her and keeping her against her will. The man was arrested.
For now, the recovered children have a better chance at safety and success later in life, thanks to the relentless efforts of the U.S. Marshals and their commitment to finding and protecting the nation’s most vulnerable.
