United States | News & Politics

Florida officials said law enforcement agencies across the state worked together on a five-day operation to find more than 160 missing children.

On Wednesday, Aug. 25, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier announced that the state’s Operation Statewide Shield had resulted in 163 children, between the ages of two months and 17 years old, being recovered in what was described as the “first statewide child recovery initiative and the largest operation of its kind in Florida history.”

Law enforcement agents involved in the operation aimed to identify, locate and recover the missing children using information from intelligence and field operations before providing them with “immediate access to child-focused services.”

“Many of these kids have been victimized by those who prey on the most vulnerable,” Uthmeier said in a press release. “Thanks to the outstanding work of Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the Office of Statewide Prosecution, and our state and local partners, these children are now safe and receiving the care they deserve.”