More than 30 missing children were recovered across Texas in an operation targeting human traffickers that ended in August and involved the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS) and the San Antonio Police Department (SAPD), with assistance from Texas Health and Human Services.
Newsweek contacted the three agencies for comment by email or online inquiry form on Monday outside regular office hours.
Why It Matters
According to the International Center for Missing and Exploited Children, over 330,000 children were reported missing across the United States in 2024.
Kirsta Leeburg Melton, who runs the Institute to Combat Trafficking, told Fox News that while many are recovered swiftly, some can fall prey to criminal exploitation.
What To Know
In a news release published on September 10, USMS said that “over 30 missing juveniles” had been located by authorities during the multiagency Operation Lightning Bug, which took place between July 28 and August 15.
The operation involved USMS personnel from multiple offices—including its Lone Star Fugitive Task Force—and SAPD units, such as its missing persons, special victims and street crimes units.
Together, these agencies “reviewed every missing juvenile listed in the Texas Crime Information Center and National Crime Information Center databases for the San Antonio area” before moving to recover children who were “at high risk of exploitation by traffickers and predators.”
Through the operation, authorities located over 30 missing children, recovered six trafficking survivors, executed nine felony arrest warrants and made three arrests for harboring a runaway, USMS said. Over 120 additional juveniles were also “encouraged to return home, resulting in cleared entries from state and national databases,” while five human trafficking investigations were launched.
In 2015, the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act became law, giving the USMS additional powers to intervene in the case of missing children regardless of whether any fugitive or sex offender was believed to be involved.
In August, 11 children were reported missing in North Dakota, sparking concern in the state—which has a population of about 800,000.
Meanwhile, in June, authorities recovered more than two dozen children in Florida as part of what they described as a “first-of-its-kind missing child rescue operation.”
What People Are Saying
U.S. Marshal Susan Pamerleau said in the news release: “The safety of our children is the safety of our communities, and justice demands that we protect those who cannot protect themselves. Through Operation Lightning Bug, we reaffirm our promise to safeguard the most vulnerable and strengthen the safety of our communities.”
SAPD Chief William McManus said: “Every suspect arrested, juvenile returned home, and survivor taken out of harm’s way matters. This operation demonstrates what can be achieved when law enforcement agencies unite to protect children.”
Kirsta Leeburg Melton, the founder and CEO of the Institute to Combat Trafficking, told Fox News: “Trafficking is the exploitation of men, women and children for forced sex or forced labor by a third party for their profit or gain. That’s been around forever. What hasn’t really been around is people’s understanding of that crime and their knowledge that it’s happening everywhere.”
What Happens Next
The recovered children are being assisted by Texas Health and Human Services.