INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana – The U.S. Marshals Service and other agency partners were able to recover eight “highly endangered” children throughout the Indianapolis area in an operation dubbed “Homecoming.”
From Aug. 31- Sept. 4, federal investigators, Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children worked to recover eight children deemed “highly endangered” by the agency. According to a press release by the agency, the children were considered the most at-risk and challenging recovery cases in the area.
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The multi-agency operation resulted in the arrest of an unidentified adult who could face charges related to parental kidnapping and weapons possession.
The agency said the recovered children were turned over to the Indiana Department of Child Services for victim assistance and placement.
According to the press release, the week-long initiative was the result 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,” USMS officials said. “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, 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.”
This is the first child-recovery operation by the U.S. Marshals Service, Southern District of Indiana, the agency said.
Dan McClain, a U.S. Marshal for the Southern District of Indiana, said the message of the operation is to illustrate that the agency will use all resources available to recover persons who have disappeared.
“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,” McClain said. “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.”
Related: Missing children rescued in Georgia sex trafficking bust