A coordinated law enforcement operation across the Tampa Bay region led to the recovery of 60 critically missing children—some of whom were victims of human trafficking—according to Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier and the U.S. Marshals Service.
The operation, dubbed “Operation Dragon Eye,” lasted two weeks and involved more than 20 agencies, including the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the U.S. Marshals Service and sheriff’s offices in Hillsborough, Pasco and Pinellas counties.
According to U.S. Marshal William Berger, the rescue effort is among the most successful in agency history.
“I have to curtail my enthusiasm because of the sensitivity of the victims involved in this operation, but the successful recovery of 60 missing children, complemented with the arrest of eight individuals, including child predators, signifies the most successful missing child recovery effort in the history of the United States Marshals Service; or to my knowledge, any other similar operation held in the United States,” Berger said in a press release.
Many of the recovered children had been missing for extended periods, some for months or even years.
Several were found in high-risk environments, including motels and private residences.
Officials reported that a number of the recovered girls were pregnant, allegedly