The U.S. Marshal Service and local authorities rescued 19 missing or endangered children in the New Orleans metro area.
Over a four-month period, the agency’s Missing Child Unit along with Louisiana State Police and local task forces in Orleans, Jefferson, and St Tammany parishes helped recover the missing children during Operation “This Is the Way Home”.
Additionally, 20 children were also located and returned to their families during this operation.
New Orleans was one of the original U.S. cities to begin a USMS pilot program for the Missing Child Unit in 2016.
Nine adults were also arrested on charges including felony carnal knowledge of a juvenile and/or contributing to the delinquency of a juvenile.
An Amber Alert recovery was also made during the operation.
The Amber Alert, issued by Arkansas State Police, was on a male child under a month old missing out of Paragould, Arkansas. That child was recovered safely in New Orleans.
“This was a joint operation with our local, state, and federal partners and teamwork and information sharing made these results possible. I am extremely proud that the U.S. Marshals Service was tasked with the mission of locating missing and exploited children,” said U.S. Marshal for the Eastern District of Louisiana Scott Illing.
“While 19 recoveries may not seem high, this work, which is time-consuming, was accomplished while also running our normal day-to-day violent felony offender investigations across 13 parishes. A sex offender fugitive operation (NO Saints and Sinners 2021) was also ongoing in the district at the same time resulting in over 35 additional felony arrests, along with our other judicial missions," Illing said.
"Our local, state, and federal partners embrace the opportunity to conduct such meaningful operations for the community, in addition to their more traditional law enforcement activities to combat the rise in violent crime,” Illing added.
During the operation, the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office seized $17,586, seven firearms, with one stolen out of New Orleans, and illegal narcotics including; Codeine, Oxycodone, other Schedule II narcotics, and Marijuana.
Anyone with information about missing/endangered children should report to their local police department and or the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at 1-800-The-Lost.
Information about violent fugitives can be provided to the U.S. Marshals Service at (504) 589-6872, via email at usms.wanted@usdoj.gov, or with the USMS tips app. Crimestoppers GNO may also be contacted with tips at (504) 822-1111.
