More than 40 children aged from just one-year-old have been brought home in time for the holidays after being snatched by sex traffickers in a police operation.
A total of 43 missing children, from infants to teenagers, have been found across 14 counties in North Florida, the US Marshals Service announced.
Nine people have been arrested as a result of Operation Northern Lights, which took place over a period of two weeks and involved 80 different officers from 25 agencies.
The recovered children were aged from one-and-half-years-old to 17 years old.
One 13-year-old rescued had been reported missing in Suwannee county eight months ago.
A 15-year-old was found to have been abducted in Okaloosa county. Officers have arrested an adult for interference with child custody.
The Marshals Service said that the operation was one of unprecedented complexity when it was carried out last month.
Homeland Security Investigations Assistant Special Agent in Charge Nicholas G. Ingegno said: ‘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.’
Greg Leljedal, the acting U.S marshal for Florida, said that the operation not only the critically missing youths but also provided them with psychological and physical care to help them recover from their trauma.
Nearly 4,000 ‘critically missing’ children have been recovered since 2015, when marshals received enhanced legal powers to search for youths believed to be in danger.
However as many as 34 per cent of children reported to have been trafficked are yet to have been found.
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.’
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