Florida authorities have recovered 163 missing children ranging in age from 2 months to 17 years as part of a five-day, multi-agency operation that stretched across five continents.
According to Fox News, Attorney General James Uthmeier announced the results Tuesday, calling Operation Statewide Shield the first statewide child-recovery initiative in Florida and the largest operation of its kind in the state’s history.
Florida law enforcement agencies worked with federal and international partners during the operation in mid-August to locate children reported missing or endangered.
According to Uthmeier’s office, the children were found in a range of circumstances.
Some were runaways, while others had been abandoned, neglected or abused. Some were also identified as victims of trafficking.
“Many of these kids have been victimized by those who prey on the most vulnerable,” Uthmeier said.
The children were recovered in Florida and seven other states, as well as Puerto Rico. Authorities also located children in Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Dominica, Finland, Ghana, Guatemala, Italy, Jamaica, Mexico, Spain and Taiwan.
Three men have been arrested in connection with cases uncovered during the operation, according to a spokesman for Uthmeier’s office.
Michael Prescott was arrested Aug. 21 by the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office. He faces three counts of lewd and lascivious acts with a minor, along with felony battery and aggravated assault charges.
Prescott also had an active warrant alleging interference with child custody, Uthmeier’s office said.
Robert Ferral Allison was arrested Aug. 20 by the Lee County Sheriff’s Office and charged with lewd and lascivious battery involving a victim between 12 and 16 years old.
Jayden Allen Harwood was arrested on charges of interference in a child custody case and resisting officers without violence.
“Many more investigations [have been] started,” a spokesman for Uthmeier’s office said. “More arrests are expected.”
After children were located, officers transported them to designated hubs where they received assistance from social service workers, child welfare professionals, medical providers and victim advocates.
Some children were reunited with their families, while others were placed in foster care, according to the attorney general’s office. Their recoveries also allowed their cases in Florida’s Missing and
Endangered Persons Information Clearinghouse to be closed.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement led the operation, drawing on experience from Operation Dragon Eye and Operation Home for the Holidays, both conducted by the U.S. Marshals.
State agencies, nonprofit organizations, federal authorities and 13 Florida sheriff’s offices also helped carry out the effort.
“Florida will continue leading the recovery of missing children, hunting down every predator and prosecuting abusers to the fullest extent of the law,” Uthmeier said.