On August 27th, US Marshals confirmed that 39 missing children have been found by authorities in a two-week-long search to rescue endangered minors. 

The US Marshals Service Missing Child Unit led the search nicknamed “Operation Not Forgotten.” With the assistance of The Southeast Regional Fugitive Task Force, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), and Georgia state and local agencies. 

Authorities safely retrieved 26 children and safely located 13 others. The search resulted in the arrest of nine criminal associations and cleared 26 arrest warrants, 19 of whom had multiple warrants. 

This case was considered one of the most challenging cases and high risk in the area due to the based on indications of high-risk factors. Some of the rescued children were believed to be victims of child sex trafficking, child exploitation, sexual abuse, physical abuse, and medical or mental conditions. Other children were requested by law enforcement to ensure their wellbeing. 

“The US Marshals Service is fully committed to assisting federal, state, and local agencies with locating and recovering endangered missing children, in addition to their primary fugitive apprehension mission,” US Marshals Service Director Donald Washington stated. “The message to missing children and their families is that we will never stop looking for you.” 

The children found were in age ranges between 3 and 17, Washington said in a news conference Thursday afternoon. 

According to the FBI, every 40 seconds a child goes missing in the United States, accounting up 765,000 missing children a year. Since the U.S Marshals partnered with NCMEC in 2005, they have successfully located and rescued more than 1,800 children.