Authorities find 123 missing children during ONE day sweep operation, including a homeless child who hadn’t eaten in days: Report

A missing children/human trafficking sweep operation carried out in one day by several agencies in Wayne County, Michigan, resulted in the location of 123 missing kids.

The U.S. Marshals Service, Michigan State Police, and numerous other agencies participated in “Operation MISafeKid,” a one-day operation carried out on September 25. The event consisted of a “sweep” in an attempt to find missing children. At least 123 kids have been found, according to press release provided by the U.S. Marshals Service.

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#RECOVERED The United States Marshals Service (@USMarshalsHQ) Child Recovery Unit Recovers 123 Kids in Operation MISafeKid.

In coordination with NCMEC, @DetroitPolice and @mspmetrodet investigated case files for missing children prior to the operation. https://t.co/L7FqLxCzWQ pic.twitter.com/UKSQZGapKX

— NCMEC (@MissingKids) October 8, 2018

Investigators were already looking into 301 missing kids’ cases a few weeks prior to the sweep. They began by tracing the children’s last known residence, whereabouts, and the addresses of friends and schools. More than half of the children have been recovered safely.

Each child located is being interviewed to determine if they were sexually abused and/or used for sex trafficking. At least three children have been identified so far as potential sex trafficking victims, and one homeless child told authorities he had not eaten in days.

“Three cases were identified as being possible sex trafficking cases, and one homeless teen was transported back to the command post after it was discovered that he had not had anything to eat in three days. He was then debriefed and turned over to Child Protective Services for aftercare,” the U.S. Marshals Service said during a news release.

The U.S. Marshals Service did not disclose where they found the children but sent a message to other missing children that they would not give up until all are located.