U.S. Marshals Operation We Will Find You Recovers Missing Children From Central California

Los Angeles, CA – The U.S. Marshals Service, along with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and state and local agencies in 16 federal judicial districts and 16 geographical locations across the U.S., led a 10-week national operation that resulted in the recovery or safe location of 225 endangered missing children, which includes runaways and those abducted by non-custodial persons.

Operation We Will Find You is the first nationwide missing child operation focused on geographical areas with high clusters of critically missing children. 

Operation We Will Find You resulted in the recovery of 169 children and the sage location of 56 children. During the operation, the U.S. Marshals Service referred 28 cases to law enforcement agencies for further investigation of crimes such as drugs and weapons, sex trafficking, and sex offender violations. Law enforcement reported allegations of trafficking in over 40 cases the U.S. Marshals Service assisted with. Of the cases closed, 86% were endangered runaways, nearly 9% were family abductions, and 5% were considered otherwise missing. The youngest child recovered was six months old. 

During the operation, 42 children were found outside the city where they went missing, and ten children were found outside of the United States in Mexico. In addition, the U.S. Marshals Service arrested a Top 15 Most Wanted couple who fled to Mexico from Washington state with their five children, who they had taken into hiding.     

The U.S. Marshals Service, Central District of California - Missing Child Unit,  Operation We Will Find You was conducted in the Los Angeles County, San Bernardino County, and Riverside County areas from March 1 to May 15, 2023, resulting in the recovery of thirteen missing or endangered children. Operation We Will Find You consisted of multiple federal, state, and local authorities working together as one with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and the community to find the community’s most vulnerable- missing children. 

“We will continue to make the recovery of critically missing children our top priority” said U.S. Marshal David Singer of the Central District of California. “Our main focus is to raise awareness to deter child exploitation and work with our law enforcement partners to locate and recover endangered missing children.”

Missing Child Unit Operation We Will Find You highlights include: 

• The 3/9/2023 recovery of a 16-year-old female for the Los Angeles Police Department Harbor Division. The teen had run away in or about 12/15/20222 and a possible victim of human trafficking. She was recovered in the Long Beach, CA location. 

• The 03/31/2023 recovery of a 16-year-old female for the Los Angeles Police Department. The teen had run away on 3/11/2023 and a possible victim of human trafficking. She was safely recovered prior to boarding in Greyhound bus in Los Angeles. 

• The 4/6/2023 recovery of a 16-year-old female for the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. The teen had run away on 1/20/2023 and a possible victim of human trafficking. She was safely found in the Lancaster area. 

• The 4/11/2023 recovery of a 16-year-old female for the Los Angeles Police Department. The teen had run away on or about 2/25/2023 and a possible victim of human trafficking. She was found in the Lancaster area. 

“Our collaboration with various state, local, and federal partners, allows our collective resources to be utilized in the most effective manner possible, especially during focused enforcement operations” said Assistant Chief Deputy U.S Marshal Kevin Williams of the Central District of California. “The recovery of critically missing children, is in direct alignment with Director Ronald Davis’s vision of the men and women of the U.S. Marshals Service, being more closely involved with violence reduction efforts, within our communities.”

Participants in the Central District of California - Missing Child Unit Operation We Will Find You:

• Homeland Security Investigations – Los Angeles Human Trafficking and Smuggling Group

• Los Angeles Police Department

• Los Angeles Department of Children and Family Services

• Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department 

• Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office 

• Los Angeles County Human Trafficking Task Force 

• Los Angeles County Probation 

• Pomona Police Department 

• Long Beach Police Department 

• Riverside County Sheriff’s Office 

• Riverside District Attorney’s Office 

• Fontana Police Department

• San Bernardino District Attorney’s Office 

Any information about missing/endangered children should be reported to your local police department and or the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at 1-800-The-Lost. Follow the U.S. Marshals on Twitter  @USMSLosAngeles