Eleven missing children were either located or recovered near Denver, Colorado this month in the first operation ever conducted in that state by a special U.S. Marshals unit dedicated to finding missing children.
The U.S. Marshals Service worked with local police from Nov. 7-18 to track down missing kids in what they called “Operation Lost and Found,” according to a press release.
The operation saw one adult arrested for alleged interference with a custodial order.
These 11 cases of missing children, aged 12 to 17, were considered some of the area’s most sensitive and difficult, and involved sex trafficking, abuse and exploitation, the release stated.
It isn’t clear how many children were only located, but not recovered. But the release said the next steps for recovered children will be handled by local police and the Colorado Department of Human Services.
All of the recovered children had been reported missing to local police, logged in the National Crime Information Center database, and reported to the nonprofit National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, the release stated.
The Marshals were authorized in 2015 to assist with missing child cases. Since then, the service’s Missing Child Unit has recovered more than 2,300 children, with a child recovered in 56 percent of cases.
“Operation Lost and Found” was the first missing child operation the US Marshals have conducted in Colorado, according to the release.
“As the Marshals continue to develop our Missing Child Unit, we will continue to support state and local law enforcement partners in locating and reunifying missing and exploited children with their families,” said Kirk Taylor, U.S. Marshal for the District of Colorado.
Other recent successes of the Missing Child Unit include 16 children recovered and five people arrested near New Orleans earlier this year, as well as 19 children recovered near New Orleans last year.
