Operation Lost Souls was a success — Federal, state and local authorities report that dozens of missing children have been reunited with their parents.
The three weeks long Operation Lost Souls initiative resulted in the rescue of 70 children in Texas, Colorado, and Ciudad Juarez, Mexico.
A May 25 press release from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) notes that the successful outcome resulted from a complex multiagency operation.
ICE reports that the children rescued in the Operation Lost Souls initiative ranged between ages 10 and 17. ICE also noted that most of the children were runaways.
The operation commenced the last week of April and concluded in mid-May. The successful outcome was announced on May 25, National Missing Children’s Day.
Sadly, many of the runaway children fell victim to sex traffickers and now suffer the trauma of physical and sexual abuse. The ICE report notes that the agency is providing counseling support for the children and their families.
In the ICE report, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) El Paso Deputy Special Agent Taekuk Cho states:
“Operation Lost Souls exemplifies Homeland Security Investigations’ commitment to protecting the public from crimes of victimization. In this case, we are looking out for our children — our community’s most precious resource.”
Cho continued, “HSI is committed to continue working with our law enforcement partners to locate, recover and help missing children heal while ensuring that perpetrators are held responsible for these heinous crimes and brought to justice.”
Representing the Texas Dept. of Public Safety, Major Matthew Mull added:
“At the Department of Public Safety, teamwork is one of our core values. We are grateful for all of our law enforcement partners who participated in this operation and who work around the clock every day to protect our communities, including our youth.”
The Operation Lost Souls announcement comes just days after authorities arrested eight individuals suspected of abducting a 15-year-old girl who left her seat during a Dallas Mavericks basketball game to use the restroom.
Sex traffickers abducted the girl on April 8. After an intense search, the girl was rescued by authorities in Oklahoma 11 days later.
The girl’s mother shared the following statement on May 5:
“We are thankful for the work of the Oklahoma City Police Department and the recovery of our daughter. My heart breaks for the unimaginable things my daughter had to endure for the 11 days she was taken, and I am so glad she is safe as we work toward her recovery.”
In a striking indictment on America, Tim Ballard, a former DHS special agent and founder of Operation Underground Railroad, said that America drives the demand for the $150 billion global sex-trafficking industry.
Ballard made the statement during an interview with Candace Owens on Candace:
“The country with the highest demand is going to be the country most exposed to sexual material. And so, what country is as large as the United States where everyone has access to the internet? None. So that’s my theory as to why the United States is the largest consumer.”
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