US Marshals find 41 missing children, arrest 3, including sex offender, in five-week operation in New York

Dozens of missing children have been found and three people arrested – including a sex offender – during a five-week citywide operation led by U.S. Marshals.

Authorities recovered 41 “critically missing children” — including those coerced by adults into criminal activity or sex trafficking, or frequent runaways — during “Operation We Will Find You 2,” which lasted more than a month and ended Monday, the U.S. Marshals Service said.

A sex offender wanted on a local arrest warrant was arrested, along with two others who were wanted on charges including theft and parental kidnapping, according to marshals.

Four cases — involving allegations of assault, rape, sex trafficking and failure to register as a sex offender — were referred to law enforcement for further investigation, officers said.

“We are committed to doing everything we can to bring missing children home safely,” Ralph Sozio, the marshal for the Southern District of New York, said in a statement. “Through the collaboration of our law enforcement partners and the involvement of the community, we hope to make a meaningful impact in protecting our children and bringing to justice anyone who harms them.”

The children – some with mental illness – were found in random apartments, others were camping in stairwells and still others were living on the city's streets, authorities said.

While some previously lived in the city's homeless shelters or with foster families, others came from out of state and ended up in the Big Apple.

One of the suspects was handcuffed after getting off an international flight.

“There is an epidemic of missing children in the United States,” Vincent DeMarco, the U.S. Marshal for the Eastern District of New York, said in a statement. “Missing children must be reported and recovered promptly because they are vulnerable to sex trafficking, exploitation, and unimaginable harm. I am very proud of the results of this operation and the impact it will have on the lives of children.”

Marshals from the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York were involved in the operation, along with members of the New York/New Jersey Regional Fugitive Task Force, special agents from the HSI New York Human Trafficking Task Force, and NYPD detectives from the Human Trafficking and Missing Persons Unit.

Experts from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children also provided assistance.

The U.S. Marshals Service says it has located more than 2,000 missing children since 2005.