Forty-five missing children were recovered in Ohio by the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS), which was recognized in the 2019 ‘ASTORS’ Awards Program for Excellence in Public Safety, as part of an October operation called “Autumn Hope.”
The USMS Offices in Southern Ohio and Southern West Virginia, in conjunction with the Ohio Attorney General’s Office and the Central Ohio Human Trafficking Task Force participated in operation “Autumn Hope” throughout the month of October.
Operation Autumn Hope was a multi-agency enforcement operation focused on human trafficking and the location and recovery of missing and exploited children.
During the operation 45 missing children were recovered by the USMS, and 179 arrests were made by the Central Ohio Human Trafficking Task Force.
Additionally, 20 children were located per the request of law enforcement to ensure the child’s well-being. The operation was supported by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), also recognized in the 2019 ‘ASTORS’ Awards, and Ohio state and local agencies.
During one of the missing child recoveries, a loaded gun was recovered. The 15-year old male juvenile had two warrants and is suspected in multiple shootings and a homicide.
Another case involved a high-risk 15-year old girl who was missing from Cleveland. Information developed from that recovery linked her and other possible victims to an individual in Columbus suspected of human trafficking.
An additional recovery of two juveniles occurred when the USMS Southern Ohio task force forwarded information to Marshals in West Virginia.
A recovery of the missing juveniles occurred on a traffic stop after the West Virginia State Police were informed to be on the lookout for the adult male and the vehicle he was driving. The adult male was charged with concealment/removal of a minor child in Jackson County, WV.
During the operation the Lancaster Police Department requested assistance in locating a 14-year-old girl who was reported missing in the middle of the night. The girl was recovered in Columbus by the USMS within six hours of being reported missing.
(Ohio Attorney General David Yost said more than 50 agencies were involved in Operation Autumn Hope. This operation is an anti-human trafficking collaboration. Courtesy of WKYC Channel 3 and YouTube. Posted on Oct 26, 2020.)
Over the past five years, the USMS has recovered missing children in 75% of the cases it has received, and of those recovered, 72% were recovered within 7 days.
Since 2005, the USMS has recovered more than 2,000 missing children.
The Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act of 2015 enhanced the USMS’ authority to assist federal, state and local law enforcement with the recovery of missing, endangered or abducted children, regardless of whether a fugitive or sex offender was involved.
The Marshals established a Missing Child Unit to oversee and manage the implementation of its enhanced authority under the act.
The U.S. Marshals Southern Ohio Fugitive Apprehension Strike Team (SOFAST) is comprised of 70 federal, state and local law enforcement agencies from the lower 48 counties in the state of Ohio.
“My thanks to all personnel who have stepped up for this operation,” expressed Peter C. Tobin, U.S. Marshal for the Southern District of Ohio.
“These are the same personnel who hunt down violent fugitives every day.”
“I’m incredibly proud of them and pleased that they were able to apply those same skills to finding missing children. I know Operation Autumn Hope has made a difference in a lot of young lives.”
(Operation ‘Autumn Hope’ recovers 45 missing children in Ohio, West Virginia. Courtesy of Local 12 and YouTube. Posted on Oct 28, 2020.)
USMS and the NCMEC Recognized in 2019 ‘ASTORS’ Awards Program
United States Marshals Service
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Excellence in Public Safety
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Fugitive Task Forces
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The U.S. Marshals Service currently leads 60 Regional fugitive task forces which combine the efforts of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies to locate and apprehend the most dangerous fugitives and assist in high profile investigations.
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(See a brief introduction to the United States Marshals Service narrated by John Walsh from America’s Most Wanted. Courtesy of Shane T. McCoy and YouTube.)
To Learn More about the U.S. Marshals Service, please visit http://www.usmarshals.gov.
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC)
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Excellence in Public Safety
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The CyberTipLine
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The NCMEC congressionally mandated CyberTipline is a reporting mechanism for cases of child sexual exploitation including child pornography, online enticement of children for sex acts, molestation of children outside the family, sex tourism of children, child victims of prostitution, and unsolicited obscene material sent to a child available 24 hours per day, 7 days per week.
(After over 20 years in operation, the NCMEC CyberTipline has received more than 45.2 million reports of suspected child sexual exploitation – more than half of those in just the last two years. Recognizing this explosive growth, Congress unanimously passed, and the president signed, a new law to streamline the CyberTipline process and tackle new trends we’re seeing in child sexual exploitation. Courtesy of NCMEC and YouTube. Posted on Jan 23, 2019.)
The Annual ‘ASTORS’ Awards Program is specifically designed to honor distinguished government and vendor solutions that deliver enhanced value, benefit and intelligence to end users in a variety of government, homeland security and public safety vertical markets.
The Annual ‘ASTORS’ Awards is the preeminent U.S. Homeland Security Awards Program highlighting the most cutting-edge and forward-thinking security solutions coming onto the market today, to ensure our readers have the information they need to stay ahead of the competition, and keep our Nation safe – one facility, street, and city at a time.
90% of ‘ASTORS’ Award Winners return to compete in the Annual ‘ASTORS‘ Homeland Security Awards Program, and 100% of ‘ASTORS’ Sponsors have returned year to year to reap the benefits of their participation in the industry’s largest and most comprehensive Annual Awards Program.
The 2019 ‘ASTORS’ Awards Program surpassed expectations with a record number of nominations received from industry leaders and government agencies, and drew over 200 attendees to the ‘ASTORS’ Awards Presentation Banquet – an exclusive gourmet luncheon and networking opportunity which filled to capacity, before having to turn away late registrants.
The event featured an impassioned and compelling keynote address by William J. Bratton, former police commissioner of the New York Police Department (NYPD) twice, the Boston Police Department (BPD), and former chief of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), as he walked attendees through 50 years of American policing history, the impacts on the communities, and the evolution of critical communication capabilities in our post 9/11 landscape.
Commissioner Bratton, one of the world’s most respected and trusted experts on risk and security issues and Executive Chairman of Teneo Risk a global advisory firm, was recognized as the ‘2019 ‘ASTORS’ Person of the Year’ for his Lifetime of Dedication and Extraordinary Leadership in Homeland Security and Public Safety.
The 2020 ‘ASTORS’ Awards Program is sponsored by ATI Systems, Attivo Networks, Automatic Systems, Desktop Alert, X.Labs and Reed Expositions, every one a returning Sponsor from 2019.
Why the ‘ASTORS’ Homeland Security Awards Program?
American Security Today’s comprehensive Annual Homeland Security Awards Program is organized to recognize the most distinguished vendors of physical, IT, port security, law enforcement, and first responders, in acknowledgment of their outstanding efforts to ‘Keep our Nation Secure, One City at a Time.’
Over 200 distinguished guests representing Federal, State and Local Governments, and Industry Leading Corporate Firms, gathered from across North America, Europe and the Middle East to be honored among their peers in their respective fields which included:
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Excellence in Public Safety and Government Security Award Nominations are also encouraged, such as those 2019 Honored Winners which includes the DEA, U.S. Marine Corps, DHS S&T, Federal Protective Service, DHS S&T NUSTL, U.S. Marshals Service, U.S. Border Patrol, The Port Authority of NY/NJ, and the NYS Division of Homeland Security & Emergency Services.
Individuals are also encouraged to be nominated for Government Excellence in Public Safety and Homeland Security such as last years widely respected recipients.
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The traditional security marketplace has long been covered by a host of publications putting forward the old school basics to what is Today – a fast changing security landscape.
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Additional information about the U.S. Marshals Service can be found at http://www.usmarshals.gov.
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