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Atlanta, GA – The U.S. Marshals Southeast Regional Fugitive
Task Force, in coordination with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation,
the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and metro Atlanta
area law enforcement officers, recently wrapped up an operation dubbed
Empty Nest to recover highly endangered missing children throughout the
Northern District of Georgia.
From April 8-19, law enforcement
officials recovered 16 missing children and arrested eight criminal
associates, clearing seven arrest warrants and filing nine additional
charges for alleged crimes related to parental kidnapping, aggravated
assault, drugs and weapons possession, theft and custodial interference.
The recovered children were ultimately turned over to the
Georgia Division of Family and Children Services for victim assistance
and placement.
The two-week initiative was the culmination of
several months of planning and coordination between the SERFTF, the GBI
and NCMEC. The children were all reported missing by local law
enforcement, entered into the National Crime Information Center and
reported to NCMEC as missing.
The recovered children, between
the ages of 4 and 17, were considered to be some of the most at-risk and
challenging recovery cases in the area, based on indications of
high-risk factors such as victimization of child sex trafficking, child
exploitation, sexual abuse, physical abuse and medical or mental health
conditions.
Participating officers were given the case files and
began investigating the children’s whereabouts starting with last known
addresses, friend’s homes, and schools in hopes of finding them and
getting them back to a safe place.
Empty Nest is the first
missing child operation by a U.S. Marshals Service Regional Fugitive
Task Force in the United States.
“The Marshals are committed to
assisting state and local agencies with locating and recovering
endangered missing children to help prevent them from falling victim to
crimes of violence and exploitation,” said SERFTF Commander James
Joyner. “The message that we wish to convey to the missing children and
their families is that we will find you.”
Agencies
involved in the operation included:
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USMS Southeast Regional Fugitive Task Force
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USMS Missing Child Unit
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USMS Northern District of Georgia
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Georgia Bureau of Investigation
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National Center for Missing and Exploited
Children
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Hall County Sheriff’s Office
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DeKalb County Police and Sheriff’s Office
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Gwinnett County Police Department and
Sheriff’s Office
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Whitfield County Sheriff’s Office
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Houston County Sheriff’s Office
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Cobb County Sheriff’s Office
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Atlanta Police Department
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Butts County Sheriff’s Office
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Georgia Division of Family and Children
Services.
Additional information about the U.S. Marshals Service can be found
at http://www.usmarshals.gov.
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