US Marshals rescue 45 missing children and 109 human trafficking survivors in 'Autumn Hope' operation - leading to 169 arrests
The US Marshals Service has recovered 45 missing children in Ohio under a massive operation called 'Autumn Hope' which resulted in 169 arrests.
Ohio Attorney General David Yost announced the successful recoveries at a news conference on Monday.
He said the operation - spearheaded by the Central Ohio Human Trafficking Task Force and Marshals in Southern Ohio and Southern West Virginia - was the largest anti-human trafficking effort in the state's history.
A total of 169 people - at least 157 of them men - were arrested on charges of soliciting and other crimes in Franklin, Cuyahoga and Lucas counties in the month of October, Yost said.
Forty-five missing children were recovered, along with 109 human trafficking survivors, WBNS reported.
The US Marshals Service has recovered 45 missing children in Ohio under a massive operation called 'Autumn Hope' which resulted in 169 arrests. Pictured: Marshals arrest a man in Columbus during the month-long operation
Among the missing children discovered in the operation was a 15-year-old girl from Cleveland, the US Marshals office said.
Information collected during that recovery linked the girl and other possible victims to an individual in Columbus who is suspected of human trafficking, the agency said.
Ohio Attorney General David Yost announced the successful recoveries at a news conference on Monday
In another case, a 14-year-old girl who was reported missing in the middle of the night was discovered just six hours later after the Lancaster Police Department sought assistance from Marshals.
Two other missing children were recovered by Marshals in West Virginia and the USMS Southern Ohio task force during a traffic stop, officials said.
An adult male driving the vehicle with the two children was arrested for concealment or removal of a minor child.
The Autumn Hope operation also led to the recovery of a 15-year-old boy who had two warrants out for his arrest in connection with multiple shootings and a homicide.
A loaded gun was discovered during that recovery mission.
Yost said the Autumn Hope operation - spearheaded by the Central Ohio Human Trafficking Task Force and Marshals in Southern Ohio and Southern West Virginia - was the largest anti-human trafficking effort in the state's history
Yost said the operation had four main goals: Rescuing victims of human trafficking and referring them to social services; recovering missing and exploited children; apprehending those seeking to have sex with a minor; and arresting male johns seeking to buy sex.
Peter C Tobin, US Marshal for the Southern District of Ohio, praised the efforts of law enforcement officials involved in the operation in a statement.
'My thanks to all personnel who have stepped up for this operation,' Tobin said.
'These are the same personnel who hunt down violent fugitives every day. I'm incredibly proud of them and pleased that they were able to apply those same skills to finding missing children.
'I know Operation Autumn Hope has made a difference in a lot of young lives.'
Autumn Hope is the third major anti-sex trafficking operation conducted by the USMS this fall.
Last month the agency announced that 25 missing and endangered children between the ages of 13 and 18 had been recovered in Ohio during 'Operation Safety Net'.
In August, 39 children were recovered in Georgia during a two-week mission called 'Operation Not Forgotten'.
The USMS said it has recovered missing children in 75 percent of cases its received over the past five years.