The Westside Gazette

U.S. Marshals MCU Operation ‘Fresh Start’ Recovers Sixteen Missing Endangered Children and Makes Five Arrests

Carma Henry

ATLANTA, Aug. 2020 -- Operation Not Forgotten resulted in the rescue of 26 children, the safe location of 13 children and the arrest of nine criminal associates. The U.S. Marshals Service Missing Child Unit, in conjunction with the agency’s Southeast Regional Fugitive Task Force, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) and Georgia state and local agencies, led a two-week operation in August in Atlanta and Macon, Georgia, to rescue endangered missing children. Additionally, investigators cleared 26 arrest warrants and filed additional charges for alleged crimes related to sex trafficking, parental kidnapping, registered sex offender violations, drugs and weapons possession, and custodial interference. This relatively new mission for the U.S. Marshals has seen two large scale operations recently and several smaller ones around the country. The future should see many similar operations throughout the United States as the Missing Child Unit ramps up operations using the man hunting skills, in which the Marshals specialize, to locate and rescue missing minors. Photo by: Shane T. McCoy / US Marshals

Led by the Missing Child Unit, officers rescued 16 children on the missing and endangered list.

 By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent@StacyBrownMedia

      The U.S. Marshals Service has recovered 16 missing children, arrested five individuals, and has broken open a sex trafficking ring as law enforcement continues its quest to stop the proliferation of kidnapping and crimes against kids.

“Fresh Start,” a three-month tactical operation, took place in New Orleans from January 1 through March 31, the Marshal service said in a news release.

Led by the Missing Child Unit, officers rescued 16 children on the missing and endangered list.

“Based on the operation, at least four (4) felony warrant(s) exist for adults suspected of involvement with MCU minors, and the USMS New Orleans Task Force is actively pursuing these fugitives,” authorities said.

Among those recovered were a 5-year-old female and a 7-year-old male taken by a non-custodial parent.

The Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office issued a felony warrant for the children’s mother for kidnapping, and authorities alleged that she made active attempts to avoid arrest along the way.

The non-custodial parent took the children to Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The U.S. Marshals from the Florida/Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force recovered the children and arrested the mother.

Also, a 15-year-old Ouachita Parish, Louisiana, female diagnosed with Schizophrenia wrestled free from restraints and jumped out of an ambulance while paramedics transported her to Children’s Hospital in New Orleans.

She was located and recovered at an address in New Orleans with assistance from New Orleans Police Department Special Victim’s Division – Child Abuse Unit, Ouachita Parish Sheriff’s Office, and Xavier University Police Department.

“I am very proud of the cooperative work done by all the agencies involved in safeguarding at-risk children. Our Office is proud to be a part of a robust MCU program that took root in New Orleans starting in 2016,” US Marshal Scott Illing said in a statement.

“This work is being done with our partners while our office still performs its critical USMS missions (judicial and witness security, managing federal prisoners, violent fugitives’ apprehension, sex offender investigations, and service of federal process),” Illing said.

 

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