US Marshals rescue 35 missing and endangered children during 'Operation Safety Net' in Ohio



The U.S. Marshals Service continues its mission to locate missing children. The U.S. Marshals announced this week that they had rescued 35 missing and endangered children during "Operation Safety Net" in Ohio.

Operation Safety Net, a joint investigation by the U.S. Marshals Service and local police in Ohio, tracked down 35 missing kids from the Cuyahoga County area. The lost children, who were between the ages of 13 and 18, were found in Ohio cities, including Cleveland, Akron, and Columbus, as well as Miami, Florida.

More than 20% of the endangered children were tied to human trafficking cases, according to the news release from the U.S. Marshals Service.

"This was new unchartered territory and the first time we conducted an operation like this," U.S. Marshal Pete Elliott said in a statement on Monday. "I am very proud of our law enforcement, community and media partners who worked tirelessly to bring our missing and most vulnerable children to safety. The establishment of a permanent unit in Northern Ohio will ensure that our most vulnerable missing children will continue to be found and brought to safety."

Newburgh Heights Police Chief John Majoy said his department was "proud to assist in Operation Safety Net," and commended the United States Marshals Service for "their hard work and dedication toward locating these children."

"Many times, they do not know they are a victim and this operation offers hope, freedom and safety they would not otherwise have," Majoy said. "This is a fine example of local, state and federal partners all working together for a notable cause. Together we can all make a difference."

Operation Safety Net is still working on five cases that remain open, which will be handled by the Marshals Task Force and local law enforcement in the next several weeks. The missing children they are looking for are Leantwana Bates, 17, Yalonda Bates, 15, Ja-Niya Scott-Lee, 16, Alicia Jackson, 16, and Issac Ortiz, 16.

Following the success of Operation Safety Net, a permanent Missing Child Unit was created in northern Ohio "to focus on those missing, abused, neglected and trafficked juveniles."

In the last four weeks, U.S. Marshals have located nearly 90 missing and endangered children.

In late August, the U.S. Marshals Service located 39 missing children in Georgia and Florida during "Operation Not Forgotten." The Marshals said the children were between the ages of 3 to 17. Of the 39 endangered children, 15 were victims of sex trafficking.

Earlier this month, U.S. Marshals reported that they rescued eight "highly endangered" missing children in Indiana during "Operation Homecoming."

Last week, U.S. Marshals Service wrapped up "Operation Triple Beam," a 60-day mission to reduce violent gang crime in Oklahoma City. U.S. Marshals rescued five missing children, made 262 arrests, and seized illegal firearms and narcotics.

The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement participated in a multi-agency operation that resulted in the arrest of five suspected child sexual predators. "Operation Home Alone 2" was able to successfully "target sexual predators who attempted to lure underage children with the intent of engaging in sexual activity."

35 missing children found by US Marshals in Ohio

US Marshals have found 35 missing children in Ohio after launching "Operation Safety Net," which aims to crack down on kidnappings and missing children cases.

US Marshals rescue 8 'highly endangered' missing children in Indiana during 'Operation Homecoming'



The U.S. Marshals announced this week that they had located and rescued eight missing children in Indiana. The missing children recovered in "Operation Homecoming" were said to be "highly endangered."

The children were "considered to be some of the most at-risk and challenging recovery cases in the area based on indications of high-risk factors such as victimization of child sex trafficking, child exploitation, sex abuse, physical abuse and medical or mental health conditions," according to the statement released by the U.S. Marshals Service, Southern District of Indiana.

The missing children, who were between the ages of 6 and 17, were rescued and handed over to the Indiana Department of Child Services.

During the five-day Operation Homecoming in the Indianapolis area, one adult was arrested and faces charges related to parental kidnapping, intimidation, weapons possession, and custodial interference, the United States Marshals Service stated.

Operation Homecoming took place from Aug. 31 to Sept. 4, but involved several months of planning and coordination between multiple agencies. The agencies involved in the operation include the U.S. Marshals Service Missing Child Unit, U.S. Marshals Service Great Lakes Regional Fugitive Task Force, Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

"The Marshals are committed to assisting state and local agencies with locating and recovering endangered missing children to help prevent their falling victim to crimes of violence and exploitation," said Dan McClain, U.S. Marshal for the Southern District of Indiana. "The message that we wish to convey to the missing children and their families is that we will use every resource at our disposal to find you."

Over the last two weeks, the U.S. Marshals have announced the rescue of 72 missing children.

Last month, U.S. Marshals located 39 missing children in Georgia and Florida during "Operation Not Forgotten." Authorities said the children ranged in age from 3 to 17 years old. The U.S. Marshals Service said that 15 of the children were victims of sex trafficking, according to WAGA-TV.

There were 26 warrants cleared during the two-week operation, including "19 arrest warrants for a total of nine individuals arrested, some of whom had multiple warrants," according to the U.S. Marshals.

In late August, U.S. Marshals announced that they had tracked down 25 missing and endangered children from Ohio during Operation Safety Net. The missing children were between the ages of 13 and 18, and were located in Cleveland, Euclid, Willoughby, and as far away as Miami, Florida.

U.S. Marshals said that a quarter of the endangered children were victims of human trafficking and prostitution.

"These are kids that have been abused, neglected. Some involved in human trafficking," U.S. Marshal Pete Elliott told WOIO-TV. "Sometimes the situations they — they go to, believe it or not, may be better than the situations they left from. We've had some cases where the mother and or father, or both, may have been prostituting their own child."

"We're trying to do our part. A number of these children have gone to the hospital after we've recovered them to get checked out, so again this is something we take very seriously," Elliott added. "I'll tell you this, it will be something we'll be doing every year. This is our first time we have done this, it's been uncharted territory for us, but we've had great success."

There were 421,394 entries for missing children in 2019, according to the FBI's National Crime Information Center. The U.S. Marshals helped recover 295 missing children in 2019, and more than 1,800 since teaming up with the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children in 2005.


US Marshals rescue 25 missing children from Ohio, many are victims of human trafficking or prostitution



U.S. Marshals located 25 missing and endangered children from Ohio in the past 20 days of an ongoing operation. U.S. Marshals worked with state and local agencies in Ohio to track down missing children in Operation Safety Net.

The missing children, who were between the ages of 13 and 18, were found in Cleveland, East Cleveland, Euclid, Willoughby, and as far away as Miami, Florida. U.S. Marshals noted that a quarter of the endangered children were victims of human trafficking and prostitution.

"These are kids that have been abused, neglected. Some involved in human trafficking," U.S. Marshal Pete Elliott told WOIO. "Sometimes the situations they—they go to, believe it or not, may be better than the situations they left from. We've had some cases where the mother and or father, or both, may have been prostituting their own child."

"We're trying to do our part. A number of these children have gone to the hospital after we've recovered them to get checked out, so again this is something we take very seriously," Elliott added. "I'll tell you this, it will be something we'll be doing every year. This is our first time we have done this, it's been uncharted territory for us, but we've had great success."

The Northern Ohio Violent Fugitive Task Force, Cleveland Division of Police, the Cuyahoga County Sheriff's Department, the East Cleveland Police Department, and the Newburgh Heights Police Department are assisting U.S. Marshals in Operation Safety Net, according to the Mansfield News Journal.

Operation Safety Net will continue for a few more weeks, and it has a goal to find the approximately 200 missing children from Northeast Ohio.

Information about the whereabouts of missing children can be provided at the U.S. Marshals tip line at 1-866-492-6833.

Earlier this week, U.S. Marshals rescued 26 missing children and safely located 13 during "Operation Not Forgotten." The endangered children, who ranged in age from 3 to 17, were found in Georgia and Florida. Of the 39 children, 15 were victims of sex trafficking.

In a separate operation called "Operation Moving Target," 27 men were arrested in Cuyahoga County, Ohio. The men reportedly engaged in sexually explicit online conversations with undercover officers while posing as children, according to Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael O'Malley.

During the four-day undercover operation that took place this week, men contacted, who they believed to be minors via social media apps. "The defendants apparently expressed an interest in engaging in sexual activity with the purported children and/or disseminated images of their genitals during these online conversations," according to WKYC.

The men, between the ages of 21 and 61, allegedly traveled to a vacant house in Cuyahoga County, according to the prosecutor's office. When the men arrived at the house, authorities were there to arrest and take them to the county jail.

Several of the suspects had condoms, personal lubricant, sex toys, and drugs in their possession when they were arrested, officials say.

Many of the suspects were charged with attempted unlawful sexual conduct with a minor, disseminating matter harmful to juveniles, importuning, and possession of criminal tools.

Operation Moving Target was coordinated by the Ohio ICAC Task Force, and worked in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Department of Justice, the FBI, the U.S. Secret Service, the Ohio Adult Parole Authority, Ohio BCI, Newburgh Heights Police, Solon Police, Kent Police, Streetsboro Police, Cortland Police, and Cleveland Police.

The suspects include:

  • Rajwant Singh, 44, Mayfield Heights
  • Adam Davis, 41, Painesville
  • Germaine Truett, 38, Cleveland
  • Jason Johnson, 37, Cleveland
  • Ronel Washington, 24, Garfield Heights
  • Hector Pietri, 29, Cleveland
  • Kyle Vansteenburg, 28, Cleveland
  • Raphael Robinson, 26, Cleveland
  • Cory Huber, 32, Elyria
  • Michael Labandano, 39, Lyndhurst
  • Nicholas Cook, 38, Bedford Heights
  • Chazz Johnson-Hawks, 22, Solon
  • Ian Rensel, 43, Bedford
  • Jerry Harris, 35, Westlake
  • Carson Stmisa, 21, Seven Hills
  • Justin Cowger, 22, Cleveland
  • Kim Koran, 61, Cleveland
  • Nathan Troup, 39, New Castle, Pennsylvania
  • Abed Aldur, 45, Parma
  • Arturo Martinez, 47, University Heights
  • Phillip Jones, 30, Streetsboro
  • Keith Kozak, 41, Brooklyn
  • Pedro Correa Jr., 42, Cleveland
  • Ryan Demplsey, 37, Ashtabula
  • Johnathan Smith, 34, Cleveland
  • Robert Spisak, 45, Broadview Heights
  • Jason Schmucker, 37, Canton