During a three-day, massive, multi-agency effort, more than two dozen missing children were found in Florida.
According to a National Child Protection Task Force (NCPTF) press release, the program helped locate 25 children in six Florida counties and produced new investigative leads in multiple cases of missing children.
Held at the Jacksonville office of Operation Light Shine, a nonprofit organization “committed to providing law enforcement and frontline responders with the tools, intelligence, and technology necessary to combat human trafficking and child exploitation,” the effort was led by the NCPTF.
Images captured during the operation depict people from various organizations gathered around computers and a large screen that displays a counter that shows how many “missing children were found.”
The CEO of NCPTF, stated that the first 21 children found through the operation were between the ages of 7 and 17 before the final count reached 25.
Some of the children had been missing for just over a week, according to Branzetti, while others vanished more than 400 days before being discovered, according to the Jacksonville outlet.
“The multi-agency operation involved intensive case review, investigative follow-up, and the application of advanced technology to rapidly locate children reported missing across Clay, Duval, St. Johns, Nassau, Putnam, and Flagler Counties,” according to the NCPTF press release. “Throughout the three-day effort, law enforcement, child protection professionals, prosecutors, social service providers, NGOs, and private partners collaborated to review cases, uncover leads, and develop trauma-informed strategies to help each child gain long-term safety and stability once recovered.”
In an Instagram post, Operation Light Shine highlighted some of the specific cases that resulted from the effort, stating that “what we witnessed this week was extraordinary” and that “countless lives forever changed.”
A “girl who had nothing, offering her only meal to the advocate who helped her” and “teens reimagining their future — asking about GEDs, stable housing, and careers” were among the missing children, according to the nonprofit.
The Clay County Sheriff’s Office, the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office, and the Tim Tebow Foundation also contributed to the endeavor. A group photo posted by a number of the agencies and organizations involved shows that over 70 people were involved.
“There’s no greater responsibility than protecting our most vulnerable – our youth – and keeping our community safe. Operations like this demonstrate the powers of working in unified action, when we all come together for a shared purpose,” a spokesperson for the Clay County Sheriff’s Office stated.
“One of our non-negotiables at the Tim Tebow Foundation is that there is power when we come together,” Tim Tebow said in an official statement.
We are honored to join this amazing group of law enforcement, child protection organizations, specialists, and partners in filling the void for these vulnerable and missing children.
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The founder of the Tim Tebow Foundation concluded, “Our heart is to fight for the world’s Most Vulnerable People – the real MVPs – and we’re so encouraged that we were able to be a part of impacting these lives this week.”
According to the NCPTF, the recovery of each of the 25 children found through the Florida operation is expected to result in the recovery of additional missing children across the state.
“Detailed results and further information on individual cases will be managed confidentially by respective law enforcement agencies to protect the privacy of the involved minors,” according to the press release. “As case work continues, additional rescues are expected throughout the region.”
