WZRD News: 7/3/2024
U.S. Marshals Find 200 Missing Children Across the Nation During Operation We Will Find You 2
Monday, July 1, 2024
Office of Public Affairs
The U.S. Marshals Service (USMS), along with federal, state, and local agencies in seven federal judicial districts and geographical locations across the United States, led a six-week national operation that resulted in finding 200 critically missing children, which includes endangered runaways and those abducted by noncustodial persons.
Operation We Will Find You 2 (OWWFY2), the second-of-its-kind nationwide missing child operation, was conducted from May 20 to June 24, 2024, and focused on geographical areas with high clusters of critically missing children.
Children who go missing may be in serious danger and can be vulnerable to child sex trafficking, abuse, exploitation, and other crimes against children.
With technical assistance from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), OWWFY2 resulted in the recovery and removal of 123 children from dangerous situations.
An additional 77 missing children were located and found to be in safe locations, according to law enforcement or child welfare agencies.
Of the 200 children found, 173 were endangered runaways, 25 were considered otherwise missing, one was a family abduction, and one was a non-family abduction.
The youngest child recovered was five months old. 14 of the children were found outside the city where they went missing.
Of the missing children recovered, 57% were recovered within seven days of the USMS assisting with the case.
“There are no words to describe the terror felt by missing children, their families, and their communities,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland.
“One of the most sacred missions of U.S. Marshals Service is locating and recovering our nation’s critically missing children,” said USMS Director Ronald L. Davis. “This is one of our top priorities as there remain thousands of children still missing and at risk.”
“Operation We Will Find You is a shining example of the results we can achieve when we unite in our mission to find missing children,” said President and CEO Michelle DeLaune of NCMEC. “Behind every statistic, there is a child who deserves to grow up safe from harm.”
The goal of OWWFY2 was to highlight partnerships amongst government and non-government agencies to develop a multi-disciplinary team whose focus was to pull together resources to find critically missing children and to bring more attention to the epidemic of missing children in America.
During the operation, the USMS worked with their respective federal, state, and local law enforcement partners, NCMEC, the Department of Children and Family Services, and other agencies to safely find missing children at risk of endangerment.
These missing children were considered some of the most challenging recovery cases in the area, based on indications of high-risk factors such as victimization of child sex trafficking, child exploitation, sexual abuse, physical abuse, and medical or mental health conditions.
Other children who had been reported missing were located at the request of law enforcement to ensure they were safe and to confirm the child’s location.
The Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act of 2015 enhanced the USMS’ authority to assist law enforcement with recovering endangered missing children, regardless of whether a fugitive or sex offender was involved.
The USMS established a Missing Child Unit to oversee and manage the implementation of its enhanced authority under the Act.
Members of the USMS Sex Offender Investigations Branch, Behavioral Analysis Unit, and Missing Child Unit began training personnel in the participating locations months before the operation to ensure that case selection, vetting, and all pre-operational requirements were met.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, July 1, 2024.
Musical accompaniment:
Ella Fitzgerald – Someone to Watch Over Me – Ella Fitzgerald Sings The George And Ira Gershwin Song Book
Airing at 9 AM, 11 AM, 1 PM, 4 PM, 6 PM, 8 PM, and 11 PM (CST), unless preempted by Wizards or deejays.
Listen: WZRD Chicago 88.3 FM.
Livestream: www.wzrdchicago.org
#wzrd #wzrdchicago #chicago #wzrdnews #illinois #OperationWeWillFindYou2 #MissingChildrenAcrosstheNation #USMS #USMarshalsService #highclustersofcriticallymissingchildren #criticallymissingchildren #nationwidemissingchildoperation #NCMEC #OWWFY2 #missingchildrenrecovered #NationalCenterforMissingandExploitedChildren #epidemicofmissingchildreninAmerica #DepartmentofChildrenandFamilyServices
Producer: Bill Morton
