Florida: U.S. Marshals operation leads to the ‘recovery or safe location of 60 critically missing children’

The United States Marshals Service (USMS) have led a missing child operation that “resulted in the recovery or safe location of 60 critically missing children” in Florida. 

According to a statement from the USMS, the U.S. Marshals Service Middle District of Florida launched Operation DRAGON EYE, a two-week initiative geared to “recover or safely locate the most critically missing youth” that the U.S. Marshals are calling it “the most successful missing child operation in USMS history.”

“This operation had three primary objectives: recover critically missing youth, provide them with essential services including appropriate placement, and to deter bad actors exploiting missing child vulnerabilities,” officials said in their announcement of the results of the operation. “DRAGON EYE resulted in eight arrests, including charges of human trafficking, child endangerment, narcotics possession, and custodial interference.”

Officials said that Operation DRAGON EYE was the product of a “multidisciplinary task force of federal, state, and local government agencies, as well as social service entities, the medical community, and non-governmental organizations.”

“I have to curtail my enthusiasm because of the sensitivity of the victims involved in this operation, but the successful recovery of 60 missing children, complemented with the arrest of eight individuals, including child predators, signifies the most successful missing child recovery effort in the history of the United States Marshals Service; or to my knowledge, any other similar operation held in the United States,” said William Berger, U.S. Marshal for the Middle District of Florida. “The unique part of this operation was the fact that underaged critically missing children ranging from age 9 to 17 were not only recovered but were debriefed and provided with physical and psychological care. This operation further included follow-up assistance in hopes that these youth will not return to the streets to be further victimized.”

The USMS defines “critically missing” children as those who are at risk of violent crimes or have other elevated risk factors such as substance abuse, sexual exploitation, crime exposure, or domestic violence. 

According to officials, recovered children were given medical care, food, social services, and child advocacy.