Greater St. Louis organizations help find 5 missing children during nationwide sex trafficking operation

ST. LOUIS (KMOV) – Five missing children were recovered with the help of St. Louis organizations during a nationwide sex trafficking operation.

Monday afternoon, the FBI announced the results of Operation Cross Country XII. During two weeks in August, the FBI worked with state and local partners to locate and identify 84 minor victims of child sex trafficking and child sexual exploitation offenses. They also located 37 actively missing children. The operation also resulted in 141 adult victims of human trafficking being found. The FBI said 85 suspects were arrested.

In greater St. Louis, law enforcement and non-governmental organizations recovered five missing children. In a press release, the FBI thanked the teamwork from the Missouri Department of Social Services Children’s Division, International Institute of St. Louis, St. Louis County Police Department, St. Charles County Police Department, St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, Franklin County Sheriff’s Office, Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Missouri.

According to the FBI, the average age of victims was 15.5. The youngest victim was 11 years old. In total, 391 operations were conducted across the country over the two-week period.