Another operation to rescue endangered children is underway after children were saved from horrible conditions in the state of Ohio and Georgia, according to a federal official.
In a Tuesday email to USA Today, U.S. Marshals’ Missing Child Unit chief Darby Kirby confirmed that a two-week operation is underway near Indianapolis, Indiana.
The development comes after the U.S. Marshals Service recently announced 39 endangered children had been rescued in parts of Georgia as part of the agency’s “Operation Not Forgotten.” The two-week mission, carried out in Atlanta and Macon, resulted in 26 children being rescued and 13 more safely located.
“When we track down fugitives, it’s a good feeling to know that we’re putting the bad guy behind bars. But that sense of accomplishment is nothing compared to finding a missing child,” Kirby said in a statement. “It’s hard to put into words what we feel when we rescue a missing child, but I can tell you that this operation has impacted every single one of us out here. We are working to protect them and get them the help they need.”
Another mission, dubbed “Operation Safety Net,” led to the discovery of 25 children ages 13 to 18 in Northeast Ohio, the U.S. Marshals Service announced last week, and officials said the operation could stretch into October.
“These are kids that have been abused, neglected. Some involved in human trafficking. Sometimes the situations they—they go to, believe it or not, may be better than the situations they left from,” U.S. Marshal Pete Elliott said.
“We’ve had some cases where the mother and or father, or both, may have been prostituting their own child,” he added.
To date, roughly about 200 children are listed as missing in Northeast Ohio.
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