US Marshals’ 3-Month Operation Leads to Recovery of 16 Missing Children, 5 Arrests

The US Marshals conducted a 3-month operation in Louisiana that resulted in the recovery of 16 missing children.

The operation dubbed, “Fresh Start” also led to the arrest of five individuals and uncovered allegations of sex trafficking in several of the cases, the agency confirmed.

The operation started in the New Orleans area from January 1 until March 31 and was led by the Missing Child Unit of the US Marshals Service Eastern District of Louisiana New Orleans Task Force, the New York Post reported.

The Marshals Service noted several cases of children being recovered and rescued as part of the operation’s collaborative efforts. In one case, a 5-year-old girl and a 7-year-old boy were found at the beginning of this year after they were taken by a non-custodial parent, who is their mother.

“The Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office issued a felony warrant for the mother of the children for Kidnapping, and she made active attempts to avoid arrest along the way,” the news release states.

The mother eventually took the children to the Fort Lauderdale, Florida, area and a task force recovered the children and arrested her.

On January 31, a 1-year-old baby who was abducted in New Orleans by his father, who allegedly shot and killed the infant’s grandfather, was safely located.

The father surrendered to the New Orleans Police Department and the baby was recovered.

In March, a 14-year-old “habitual runaway and previous victim of sexual assault” was located in Addis, Louisiana

“I am very proud of the cooperative work done by all the agencies involved in safeguarding at-risk children. Our Office is proud to be a part of a robust MCU program that took root in New Orleans starting in 2016,” US Marshal Scott Illing said in a statement.

“This work is being done with our partners while our office still performs its critical USMS missions (judicial and witness security, managing federal prisoners, violent fugitives’ apprehension, sex offender investigations, and service of federal process),” Illing Added.

Several other agencies also participated in the operation, among those were the New Orleans Police Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the New York Police Department, the news release states.