37 Missing Teens Rescued in Epic SoCal Trafficking Sweep – RedState
There are few crimes as heinous and hateful as those targeting children. Well, now there’s a little good news about that; A recently concluded law enforcement effort in Southern California resulted in the recovery of dozens of missing children between the ages of 14 and 17.
A massive operation by the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office Human Trafficking Task Force, with help from several other law enforcement agencies, has rescued dozens of missing children ages 14 to 17 in Southern California and neighboring states, officials said.
The sheriff’s office said that in Riverside County alone, between 5,000 and 6,000 children run away or disappear each year, with the vast majority returning home shortly after leaving.
While this is a shocking number – 5,000 to 6,000 per year – note that (although an exact number is not available) the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office notes that the vast majority return home quickly – a tantrum, perhaps, rather than an actual runaway or worse, kidnapping. This effort focused on children who did not return home quickly.
During Operation Safe Return, investigators identified 50 children missing for between one and 24 months and conducted extensive investigations to determine the whereabouts of each child.
“To determine the possible location of a child, a multidisciplinary team of law enforcement and social services responded to his recovery, which included locations in Riverside County, San Bernardino County, Orange County and Los Angeles County,” officials said in a news release.
A well-coordinated effort by a multitude of state, local and federal agencies.
Here’s what we don’t see in this report: Where are the arrests? If these children were being held by unknown people, why are these people unknown? What was their legal status? Did any children cross the border in one direction or the other, or were they supposed to cross the border? What kind of operation was it? Who directed it? When will we see photos of the goblins involved in the disappearance of these children? This is also vital information, if only to make taxpayers feel like they are getting value for their money. Returning the children is great, but let’s make sure whoever held them is treated equally.
My friend and colleague Jennifer Oliver O’Connell reported on another such effort in February:
Learn more: Operation Reclaim and Rebuild resulted in more than 600 sex trafficking arrests across the state of California.
The official press release from the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office credited all agencies involved.
Federal Law Enforcement Partners:
- United States Marshals Service
- Homeland Security Investigations
- Federal Bureau of Investigation
- United States Secret Service
State law enforcement partners:
- Riverside County Sheriff’s Office
- Riverside County Prosecutor’s Office
- Riverside County Department of Public Social Services – Welfare Fraud Investigations
- Riverside County Probation Department
- Riverside Police Department
- California Highway Patrol
- California Department of Justice
- Ban the police department
- Beaumont Police Department
- Murrieta Police Department
- Anaheim Police Department
- Los Angeles Police Department
Congratulations to each of them. It’s great to see someone in California who seems to have an idea of what they’re actually trying to do.
Learn more: Karen Bass opens eyes wide with latest initiatives after ICE rescues trafficked children
Finding and recovering lost children has been a priority of the Trump administration from the start. It is likely that we will have more good news to announce on this subject in the coming weeks.
Editor’s note: The 2026 midterm elections will determine the fate of President Trump’s America First agenda. Republicans must maintain control of both houses of Congress.
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