California authorities located over 30 missing children during a human trafficking operation in Riverside County, Governor Gavin Newsom announced on Tuesday.
The 37 children recovered were considered at high risk, including those vulnerable to exploitation and human trafficking, state officials said. Their ages, genders and citizenship statuses remain unclear.
Seven suspects were arrested in the operation, officials said.
Operation Safe Return was led by the United States Marshals Service in collaboration with the California Department of Justice, Riverside County Sheriff’s Department, Riverside Police Department, California Highway Patrol and local social services agencies. Officials said the operation focused on children listed as missing in the National Crime Information Center database.
“Every child deserves to be safe, protected, and given the chance to live their life free from exploitation,” Newsom said in a news release.
“California will continue to stand with victims and survivors, protect our most vulnerable, and do everything in our power to bring every child home safely. I’m grateful to our law enforcement partners who worked tirelessly to locate these missing children, support survivors of trafficking, and hold those responsible for harming our kids accountable,” he added.
“We will never stop fighting to protect California children and bring them home. Through close collaboration between state and federal authorities, we were able to identify, locate, and safely recover 37 vulnerable children while holding those responsible for their exploitation accountable,” Attorney General Rob Bonta said in a news release. “Finding missing children and bringing them home safely is some of the most important work we can do. We will continue working with our law enforcement partners to protect children, support families, and ensure every child in California is safe.”
On February 13, a three-day operation in Westchester County, New York, led to the recovery of dozens of missing children and teenagers, officials from the state Division of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS) said.
The DCJS said that 43 children and teens had been located through a coordinated effort involving more than 70 local, state and federal agencies, alongside nonprofit groups and private partners, all providing investigative support to police departments nationwide. On February 16, the division issued an update saying three more children and teens had been found.
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