Over 30 missing kids in South Florida were found as a result of nationwide operation “We Will Find You.” NBC6’s Kim Wynne reports
Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle held a news conference Monday to announce the results of "Operation We Will Find You," a joint federal, state, county, and city effort to locate missing children.
The state attorney was joined by U.S. Marshal Gadyaces S. Serralta, Federal Department of Law Enforcement Special Agent in Charge Felipe Williams, Miami-Dade Police Director Stephanie V. Daniels, and Miami Police Chief Manuel A. Morales.
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WATCH HEREFernandez Rundle said one of the goals is to protect kids from becoming victims of human trafficking.
"One in three teens are recruited for commercially exploited sex within 48 hours of leaving their home. Those predators know exactly what they're looking for," she said.
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Over the last six weeks, U.S. Marshals announced they found over 200 kids nationwide, with the majority of kids in dangerous situations. Thirty-one of them were found in Miami-Dade alone.
"There are too many exploiters out there looking to turn our children and young adults into walking cash machines and leaving a trail of traumatized youth," Fernandez Rundle said.
Florida ranked third in the nation for its number of missing child reports, according to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
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In 2021, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children assisted in 25,000 reported cases of missing children.
"We can save these lives if we get to them before it’s too late," Fernandez Rundle said.
