More than 30 missing children were found across Texas during an operation that targeted human traffickers and concluded in August. The effort involved the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS) and the San Antonio Police Department (SAPD), with support from Texas Health and Human Services.
Newsweek reached out to all three agencies on Monday via email and online inquiry forms for comment outside regular business hours.
Why It Matters
The International Center for Missing and Exploited Children reported that more than 330,000 children were reported missing across the United States in 2024.
Kirsta Leeburg Melton, who leads the Institute to Combat Trafficking, told Fox News that although many children are quickly recovered, some become victims of criminal exploitation.
What To Know
In a news release issued on September 10, the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS) announced that authorities had found “over 30 missing juveniles” during Operation Lightning Bug, a multiagency effort conducted between July 28 and August 15.
The operation brought together USMS personnel from several offices—including the Lone Star Fugitive Task Force—and San Antonio Police Department (SAPD) units such as missing persons, special victims, and street crimes divisions.
Working jointly, these teams “reviewed every missing juvenile listed in the Texas Crime Information Center and National Crime Information Center databases for the San Antonio area” and then focused on locating children “at high risk of exploitation by traffickers and predators.”
During the operation, authorities located more than 30 missing children, rescued six trafficking survivors, executed nine felony arrest warrants, and arrested three people for harboring a runaway, according to the USMS.
Additionally, more than 120 juveniles were “encouraged to return home, resulting in cleared entries from state and national databases,” and five human trafficking investigations were opened.
The Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act, enacted in 2015, granted the USMS expanded authority to intervene in missing children cases, even when no fugitive or sex offender was suspected of involvement.
In August, 11 children were reported missing in North Dakota, raising concern in the state, which has a population of roughly 800,000.
In June, authorities in Florida recovered more than two dozen children during what they called a “first-of-its-kind missing child rescue operation.”
What People Are Saying
U.S. Marshal Susan Pamerleau said in the news release:
“The safety of our children is the safety of our communities, and justice demands that we protect those who cannot protect themselves. Through Operation Lightning Bug, we reaffirm our promise to safeguard the most vulnerable and strengthen the safety of our communities.”
SAPD Chief William McManus added:
“Every suspect arrested, juvenile returned home, and survivor taken out of harm’s way matters. This operation demonstrates what can be achieved when law enforcement agencies unite to protect children.”
Kirsta Leeburg Melton, founder and CEO of the Institute to Combat Trafficking, told Fox News:
“Trafficking is the exploitation of men, women and children for forced sex or forced labor by a third party for their profit or gain. That’s been around forever. What hasn’t really been around is people’s understanding of that crime and their knowledge that it’s happening everywhere.”
What Happens Next
The recovered children are now receiving assistance from Texas Health and Human Services.
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