JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Operation Home for the Holidays rescued 122 missing children earlier this month across Florida. Twenty-two of those children were right here in Jacksonville.
“The mindset behind this operation was, hey. Holidays are coming up, why not go ahead and do a big operation?” said Sergeant Joshua Sterner, missing person Sergeant Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office.
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A two-week effort, led by the U.S. Marshals Service, the FBI, and local law enforcement, resulted in rescuing 122 missing kids. JSO was part of that search as they worked with the different agencies to locate these children.
JSO Sergeant Joshua Sterner said the kids they found ranged from the ages of 12 to 16, and some of them had been missing for weeks and even months.
They found the children in different areas. Some in homes, others in hotels. JSO didn’t want to confirm at this point if any of the children were trafficked because it’s an ongoing investigation.
“Couldn’t imagine going out, not knowing where you’re going to sleep at night. Some of them were found in houses where drugs were found,” he said.
One teen was found over a thousand miles away from Jacksonville.
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“She was 15 left Jacksonville. Actually made it up to the Boston area and with the efforts of the marshals, we were able to locate her using the Marshall’s up in Boston, and they found her, and we were to reunite her with her family,” he said.
JSO investigators said they had a list of 29 children whom they actively searched for. They located 22 of them by being on the ground or using social media and other data.
JSO said some of the children were first-time runaways or habitual runaways. They say some of the kids are back home with their families, and others are in DCF custody. Some had custody orders from the Department of Juvenile Justice.
“So we have to figure out the why, because it’s never as simple as they just left. There’s always some reason behind somebody leaving, whether it’s they understand it or they don’t, but it’s finding that reason, figuring it out, and trying to prevent them doing it again,” he said.
Other local agencies have also been providing help for those children, JSO said, and they will continue doing more of these operations.
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