Seventy missing children were found by authorities, most of them in West Texas, during a lengthy effort dubbed “Operation Lost Souls.”
KCBD reported Tuesday:
The children were found in Midland, Odessa, El Paso, Dallas/Ft. Worth, Colorado, and Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. The operation ran from the end of April through mid-May in El Paso, Midland, Ector, and Tom Green Counties. Many of the children were runaways and were between the ages of 10 and 17. Some children were victims of sex trafficking, and physical and sexual abuse.
Sex trafficking is described as a form of human trafficking and it is also known as modern-day slavery, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
“It is a serious public health problem that negatively affects the well-being of individuals, families, and communities. Human trafficking occurs when a trafficker exploits an individual with force, fraud, or coercion to make them perform commercial sex or work,” the agency says.
Such violence exploits people all over the world. “Victims can come from all backgrounds and become trapped in different locations and situations,” the CDC website continues.
This month, several people were arrested in a human trafficking case regarding the disappearance of a 15-year-old Texas girl from a Dallas Mavericks game she attended with her father.
“The victim’s and her family’s attorney, Zeke Fortenberry of Fortenberry PLLC, said in a press release that the child was found in a hotel in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, on April 18 – eleven days after her disappearance – and was reunited with her family,” Breitbart News relayed.
Per the recent operation, agencies offered victim services and counseling to the children who were recovered, as well as to their relatives.
“Operation Lost Souls exemplifies Homeland Security Investigations’ [HSI] 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,” explained HSI El Paso Deputy Special Agent in Charge Taekuk Cho.
“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,” Cho added.