ATLANTA — Sixteen missing children between the ages of four and 17 were found and turned over to the Georgia Department of Family and Children Services after an operation involving several agencies in Georgia.
The operation called Empty Nest was created to 'recover highly endangered missing children throughout the Northern District of Georgia.'
A U.S. Marshals news release says the children were some of the most at-risk and difficult recovery cases in the area, because of high-risk factors like sex trafficking, exploitation, sexual and physical abuse, and medical or mental health conditions.
Participating officers worked case files by tracking down last known addresses, and friends' homes and schools in order to find the children. Each child was also entered into the National Crime Information Center and reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children as missing.
From April 8-19, law enforcement officials arrested eight suspects in connection with the cases, and filed nine more charges for alleged crimes related to parental kidnapping, aggravated assault, drugs and weapons possession, theft and custodial interference.
The two-week initiative was the product of several months of planning, and involved several agencies including:
- U.S. Marshals Service
- USMS Southeast Regional Fugitive Task Force
- USMS Missing Child Unit
- USMS Northern District of Georgia
- Georgia Bureau of Investigation
- National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
- Hall County Sheriff’s Office
- DeKalb County Police and Sheriff’s Office
- Gwinnett County Police Department and Sheriff’s Office
- Whitfield County Sheriff’s Office
- Houston County Sheriff’s Office
- Cobb County Sheriff’s Office
- Atlanta Police Department
- Butts County Sheriff’s Office
- Georgia Division of Family and Children Services
Empty Nest is the first missing child operation by a U.S. Marshals Service Regional Fugitive Task Force in the United States.