43 missing children rescued in Florida

The United States Marshals Service (USMS) and law enforcement agencies in Florida rescued 43 children, some as young as 18 months old, who were missing from 14 counties in the northern part of the state, during the "Operation Northern Lights" in early December.

The police operation, which lasted for two weeks, resulted in the rescue of minors aged between one and 17 years, reported the USMS in a statement on its official website.

In addition to recovering endangered missing minors from northern Florida within the state's own territory, there were rescues in other states, such as Tennessee, Mississippi, and Louisiana.

As a result of the operation, the authorities arrested nine individuals, primarily on charges of interference with child custody. In some cases, additional charges may be brought for human trafficking, endangerment of minors, and custody interference, the investigators noted.

“Luces del Norte” aimed to safely recover and locate minors in “critical disappearance situations,” defined as those the USMS considers “at risk of violent crimes or with other elevated danger factors, such as substance abuse, exploitation, exposure to crime, or domestic violence.”

The objective was not only to rescue the missing minors in critical situations but also to provide them with essential services immediately and a suitable placement, as well as to deter criminal activities related to their exploitation.

The initiative involved more than 80 people from 25 federal, state, and local agencies, as well as social service providers, medical professionals, and child advocacy non-governmental organizations.

“This was the most successful operation ever conducted in northern Florida to locate a missing child. Thanks to the tireless dedication of federal marshals and our allies in law enforcement, 43 endangered children will now be healthy and safe at home during the holidays,” declared Greg Leljedal, acting federal marshal for the Northern District of Florida.

“It was an honor for our office to collaborate with federal marshal Greg Leljedal in the Northern District of Florida to rescue 43 missing children, some as young as 18 months old,” stated Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier, in a statement. “We will bring the strongest possible charges against those who endangered these children.”

Rescued children

The U.S. Marshals Service mentioned several cases among the most significant recoveries of the "Operation Northern Lights."

Among them, the case of a one-year-old boy who went missing from Leon County in Florida and was rescued in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The child had been reported missing and in danger since September. Following his recovery by deputies from Baton Rouge and New Orleans, he was placed in state custody, reported the magazine People.

Other two minors, aged one and 17, missing from Okaloosa County, were found on the outskirts of Jackson, Mississippi. Authorities reported that an adult who did not have custody of the children was arrested for interfering with their custody.

A 17-year-old teenager who went missing in Suwannee County has been found in Meadville, Mississippi. The USMS arrested a 24-year-old adult for interfering with the custody of a minor.

In Florida, USMS staff recovered a 13-year-old missing from Suwannee County for eight months in Jacksonville.

While another one, 15 years old, from Okaloosa County, was a victim of an unsupervised abduction, both he and his abductor were found in Ocala. The adult was arrested for interfering with the custody of the minor, the statement clarified.

The "Operation Northern Lights" was carried out under the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act of 2015, which expanded the authority of the U.S. Marshals Service to assist other law enforcement agencies in recovering missing, endangered, or kidnapped children, regardless of whether they were fugitives or sex offenders.

In June, authorities in Florida and US Marshals agents , presumed victims of trafficking, during the so-called "Operation Dragon Eye," regarded as one of the largest child rescue operations in the country's history.

That operation took place over two weeks in the Tampa Bay area, in central Florida, and resulted in the arrest of eight individuals on charges including human trafficking, child neglect, drug possession, and drug trafficking.