DETROIT, MI – The U.S. Marshals Service said 123 missing children were safely rescued during a one-day operation in Michigan.
Operation MISafeKid works to identify and recover missing children from the area with an emphasis on finding victims of sex trafficking. The operation was conducted by the U.S. Marshals Service – Detroit Missing Children Recovery Unit, U.S. Marshals Service Sex Offender Investigations Branch, Michigan State Police and law enforcement officers with Wayne County agencies.
The one-day initiative was conducted on September 26 throughout Wayne County. A number of missing child case files were investigated prior to the operation, according to a release.
Officers were then given the case files and investigated each child’s last known addresses, schools, and friends homes in hopes to find insight on their whereabouts. There were a total of 301 files of missing children investigated, recovering and identifying 123 safely during the operation, according to a release.
Each child was located and interviewed about being sexually victimized or being used in a sex trafficking ring during the time they were missing. Three of the cases were identified as being possible sex trafficking cases, and one homeless teen was transported after not having eaten in three days, according to the U.S. Marshals Service.
The child was then turned over to Child Protective Services for aftercare. This is the first operation of its kind in Wayne County, as the U.S. Marshals Service – Detroit Missing Child Recovery Unit (USMS DMCRU) was requested to investigate 30 missing child cases two weeks prior to the one-day sweep.
Nine of those children were recovered and located prior and seven more during the operation, according to the Marshals Service. The Michigan State Police Clearing House has asked for additional assistance on the remaining 14 cases.
Two missing children in Texas and one in Minnesota are also actively being investigated at this time.
