TALLAHASSEE, FL — Law enforcement agencies announced they have recovered 43 missing children across North Florida in a 12-day operation.
- Operation "Northern Lights" required a combination of federal and local agencies.
- LCSO said the children are now in contact with local service providers to ensure they have the counseling and help they might need.
- Watch the video below to see the outcome of the operation.
UPDATED:
Nearly 45 critically missing children recovered across North Florida in what U.S. Marshals Service said is the most successful missing child operation ever conducted in North Florida.
"This is the most successful missing child operation ever undertaken in North Florida. 43 endangered kids are now home for the holidays," said Greg Leljedal, United States Marshal (Acting), announcing the outcome of Operation "Northern Lights".
The U.S. Marshals Service and other law enforcement agencies, including LCSO and Homeland Security Investigations announcing the results of Operation "Northern Lights" Thursday.
"This operation required nonstop coordination, interviews, surveillance, technology work, address checks, and relentless follow-up," said Rachel Buell, Sergeant of the Human Exploitation and Trafficking Unit at the Leon County Sheriff's Office.
The operation spanned 12 days and rescued 43 children, including a 1-year-old from Leon County who was found in Louisiana and a 13-year-old missing out of Suwannee County in Jacksonville.
"I think for the public, for North Florida, like this is, you know, it may be somewhat of a surprise to see these type of numbers, but that's the reality that we're living in," said Matthew Rongey, Supervisory Deputy, U.S. Marshals Service.
Rongey said it's the coordination between local and federal agencies that made this outcome possible, getting intel from places like Department of Children and Families.
"That meant workups on these kids weeks prior so that there was not wasted time on day one and two waiting to go find these kids," said Rongey. "We already had a framework in place. We already had action plans in place to hit the ground running day one."
Buell said for this operation, more boots on the ground work was involved.
"It was knocking on doors and going to schools and going to houses and talking to people," said Buell.
Buell said while she doesn’t believe the number of children being trafficked is increasing in our area, she says awareness of the issue is.
"I do think because there has been the big push publicly to educate people and then you've got law enforcement agencies that are being very transparent about what they're seeing, what they're investigating, et cetera," said Buell.
Advice to parents: both Rongey and Buell said the best way to protect your children is to be involved with their lives.
"The best advice I would give, even as a parent myself, is, you know, know that circle of friends that your child has, know who they're talking to," said Buell. "That's probably the best deterrent."
LCSO said next steps for these children including working with local service providers to ensure they're getting the help, counseling, and support they need.
Original:
The U.S. Marshals Service led a comprehensive operation in December that resulted in the recovery and location of 43 critically missing children from 14 counties across North Florida. They held a press conference on Thursday morning, along with other agencies.
The release states, "Operation Northern Lights" involved a multidisciplinary task force comprising federal, state, and local government agencies, as well as social services, the medical community, and non-governmental organizations. The two-week initiative focused on recovering or safely locating the most critically missing youth.
The U.S. Marshals Service defines "critically missing" children as those at risk of crimes of violence or those with other elevated risk factors such as substance abuse, sexual exploitation, crime exposure, or domestic violence.
The U.S Marshals Service Northern District of Florida says over 80 personnel from 25 different agencies, including law enforcement, social services, federal and state attorneys' offices, and non-profits, worked together to bring these children home.
The release says the operation resulted in nine arrests and included recoveries potentially leading to additional future charges of human trafficking, child endangerment, and custodial interference. During this operation, endangered children missing from North Florida were recovered not only locally, but also in other states, including Tennessee, Mississippi, and Louisiana.
The recovered children ranged in age from 1½ to 17 years old.
The report states that the recovered children were provided with medical resources, nourishment, social services, and child advocates.
Among the significant recoveries during Operation Northern Lights:
- A 1-year-old missing from Leon County was recovered by USMS personnel in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
- A 17-year-old and 1-year-old missing from Okaloosa County were recovered by USMS personnel outside Jackson, Mississippi. An arrest was made on a non-custodial adult for interference with child custody.
- A 17-year-old missing from Suwannee County was recovered by USMS personnel in Meadville, Mississippi. USMS arrested a 24-year-old adult for interference with child custody.
- A 13-year-old missing from Suwannee County was recovered by USMS personnel in Jacksonville after having been missing for eight months.
- A 15-year-old from Okaloosa County who was a victim of a non-custodial abduction was located in Ocala, Florida, and the adult was arrested for interference with child custody.
Law enforcement partners in Operation Northern Lights included Homeland Security Investigations, Leon County Sheriff's Office, Tallahassee Police Department, Florida Attorney General's Office, Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Florida Highway Patrol, Florida Department of Children and Families, Florida Department of Juvenile Justice, and sheriff's offices from Escambia, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa, Walton, Bay, Jackson, Wakulla, Madison, Taylor, Suwannee, Alachua and Marion counties.
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