U.S. Marshals, partners, recover 8 ‘highly endangered’ missing children, 72 total over last few weeks

Indianapolis, IN – The U.S. Marshals Southern District of Indiana and Great Lakes Regional Fugitive Task Force, in coordination with the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), recently wrapped up an operation dubbed “Homecoming” to recover highly endangered missing children throughout the Indianapolis area.

From August 31- September 4, federal investigators coordinated with IMPD and NCMEC to recover eight highly endangered missing children resulting in one arrest of an adult subject for charges filed, including alleged crimes related to parental kidnapping, intimidation, weapons possession and custodial interference.

The recovered children were ultimately turned over to the Indiana Department of Child Services for victim assistance and placement.

The one-week initiative was the culmination of several months of planning and coordination between the USMS Southern District of Indiana, the IMPD, Indiana Department of Child Services, Indiana Fusion Center and NCMEC. The children were all reported missing by local law enforcement, entered into NCIC and reported to NCMEC as missing.

These children, between the ages of 6 and 17, were considered to be some of the most at-risk and challenging recovery cases in the area, according to U.S. Marshals, based on indications of high-risk factors such as victimization of child sex trafficking, child exploitation, sex abuse, physical abuse and medical or mental health conditions.

Participating officers were given the case files and began investigating the childrens’ whereabouts by starting with last known addresses, friend’s homes and schools in hopes of finding them and getting them back to a safe place.

This operation is the first missing child operation by the U.S. Marshals Service, Southern District of Indiana.

“The Marshals are committed to assisting state and local agencies with locating and recovering endangered missing children to help prevent their falling victim to crimes of violence and exploitation,” said Dan McClain, U.S. Marshal for the Southern District of Indiana. “The message that we wish to convey to the missing children and their families is that we will use every resource at our disposal to find you.”

Agencies involved in the operation included the USMS Southern District of Indiana, USMS Missing Child Unit, USMS Great Lakes Regional Fugitive Task Force, Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, Indiana Depart of Child Services, and the Indiana Fusion Center.

This brings a total of 72 children found in recent weeks by U.S. Marshals and combined partners.

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