Latest news with #USMS
The Hill
4 days ago
- The Hill
Authorities locate 60 ‘critically missing' children in Florida operation: US Marshals
TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) – The United States Marshals Service (USMS) partnered with multiple federal, state, and local government agencies to conduct what the Service called the most successful missing child recovery operation in USMS history. Operation Dragon Eye was a two-week initiative designed to recover or safely locate the most critically missing youth across Hillsborough, Pinellas, and Pasco Counties, USMS said. Sixty critically missing children were recovered or safely located as part of the operation, authorities said. 'The unique part of this operation was the fact that underaged critically missing children ranging from age 9 to 17 were not only recovered but were debriefed and provided with physical and psychological care. This operation further included follow-up assistance in hopes that these youth will not return back to the streets to be further victimized,' William Berger, the United States Marshal for the Middle District of Florida, said. According to USMS, 'critically missing' children are those who are at risk of crimes of violence or those with other elevated risk factors like substance abuse, sexual exploitation, crime exposure, or domestic violence. 'Operation Dragon Eye was much more than a U.S. Marshals Service operation; it was a community initiative,' said U.S. Marshals Service Deputy in Charge Mario Price. This operation had three primary objectives: recover critically missing youth, provide them with essential services including appropriate placement, and to deter bad actors exploiting missing child vulnerabilities. In addition to recovering missing children, the operation also arrested eight people with charges that included: human trafficking, child endangerment, narcotics possession, and custodial interference. According to the St. Petersburg Police Department, officers located 11 missing juveniles and arrested two people, one with human trafficking. 'This operation is a powerful example of the importance of collaboration,' said Tampa Police Department Chief Lee Bercaw. 'These arrests and recoveries serve as a reminder of the Tampa Police Department's commitment to fight to protect our most vulnerable.'
4 days ago
US Marshals operation leads to recovery or location of 60 critically missing children in Florida
The U.S. Marshals in Florida have led a missing child operation this month that 'resulted in the recovery or safe location of 60 critically missing children,' across the state, officials said. The U.S. Marshals Service Middle District of Florida -- working with a number of law enforcement partners -- launched Operation DRAGON EYE, a two-week initiative geared to 'recover or safely locate the most critically missing youth' that the U.S. Marshals are calling 'the most successful missing child operation in USMS history,' according to a statement from the U.S. Marshals Service on Monday. 'This operation had three primary objectives: recover critically missing youth, provide them with essential services including appropriate placement, and to deter bad actors exploiting missing child vulnerabilities,' officials said in their announcement of the results of the operation. 'DRAGON EYE resulted in eight arrests, including charges of human trafficking, child endangerment, narcotics possession, and custodial interference.' Authorities said that Operation DRAGON EYE was the product of a 'multidisciplinary task force of federal, state, and local government agencies, as well as social service entities, the medical community, and non-governmental organizations.' The USMS defines "critically missing" children as those at risk of crimes of violence or those with other elevated risk factors such as substance abuse, sexual exploitation, crime exposure, or domestic violence, authorities said, and recovered children were provided with medical resources, nourishment, social services and child advocates. Officials working on Operation DRAGON EYE said they are proud of this operation's achievements which located children across Hillsborough, Pinellas and Pasco counties in Florida. "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," said William Berger, U.S. Marshal for the Middle District of Florida. "The unique part of this operation was the fact that underaged critically missing children ranging from age 9 to 17 were not only recovered but were debriefed and provided with physical and psychological care. This operation further included follow-up assistance in hopes that these youth will not return to the streets to be further victimized.' Said Callahan Walsh, Executive Director, National Center for Missing & Exploited Children: "The success of Operation DRAGON EYE is a testament to what's possible when agencies unite with a shared mission to protect children," "We're proud to have supported the U.S. Marshals Service and our partners in Florida to recover these missing children and provide critical support to those who need it most. NCMEC is honored to stand alongside these teams and will continue working tirelessly to help make sure that every child has a safe childhood."
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Yahoo
‘Operation Dragon-Eye': 60 ‘critically missing' children located in most successful operation
TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA)—The United States Marshals Service partnered with multiple federal, state, and local government agencies to conduct the most successful missing child recovery operation in U.S. Marshals Service history. Operation Dragon-Eye was a two-week initiative designed to recover or safely locate the most critically missing youth across Hillsborough, Pinellas, and Pasco Counties, USMS said. 60 critically missing children were recovered or safely located in part of the operation. 'About darn time': Victims' families react to Leo Govoni's arrest in $100M fraud case Major renovation coming to Hillsborough High School thanks to penny sales tax Hillsborough County teacher tried to smuggle guns to foreign country: US Attorney 'The unique part of this operation was the fact that underaged critically missing children ranging from age 9 to 17 were not only recovered but were debriefed and provided with physical and psychological care. This operation further included follow-up assistance in hopes that these youth will not return back to the streets to be further victimized,' William Berger, United States Marshal, Middle District of Florida said. According to USMS, 'critically missing' children are those who are at risk of crimes of violence or those with other elevated risk factors like substance abuse, sexual exploitation, crime exposure, or domestic violence. 'Operation Dragon Eye was much more than a U.S. Marshals Service operation; it was a community initiative,' said U.S. Marshals Service Deputy in Charge Mario Price. This operation had three primary objectives: recover critically missing youth, provide them with essential services including appropriate placement, and to deter bad actors exploiting missing child vulnerabilities. 'The majority were being trafficked. The eight people that we arrested, it wasn't just a child, some of them had multiple children working for them. You know, in the old days we used to call them pimps, now it's human traffickers, but their criminals,' said Bill Berger who is the U.S. Marshal for the Middle District of Florida. Berger said those arrested are facing charges of human trafficking, child endangerment and drug possession. 'They know these children were underage. If you look at the average age of the offender, well into their 30s and 40s and then the age of the children were from 9 to 17,' said Berger. In addition to recovering missing children, the operation also arrested eight people with charges that included: human trafficking, child endangerment, narcotics possession, and custodial interference. According to the St. Petersburg Police Department, officers located 11 missing juveniles and arrested two people, one with human trafficking. 'This operation is a powerful example of the importance of collaboration,' said Tampa Police Department Chief Lee Bercaw. 'These arrests and recoveries serve as a reminder of the Tampa Police Department's commitment to fight to protect our most vulnerable.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Boston Globe
16-06-2025
- Boston Globe
‘Operation Spring Clean' nets 117 arrests of violent felons across the state, US Marshals Service says
The U.S. Marshals Service Fugitive Task Force, based in Boston, teamed up with regional law enforcement to make arrests on charges of homicide, robbery, as well as sex offenses, felonious assaults, and narcotics and gun violations, the statement said. 'The success of this operation is truly a testament to the dedication to duty and the commitment to teamwork exhibited by our local, state, and federal partners,' acting U.S. Marshal Matt Lawlor said in the statement. 'The USMS is committed to reducing violence in our communities by apprehending and removing violent offenders that are negatively impacting our local communities across the Commonwealth,' Lawlor said. Advertisement The sting, which was part of a larger action dubbed 'Operation Take Back America,' also netted nine guns, 544 rounds of ammunition, and 188 grams of narcotics, according to the statement. The nine cities and communities targeted in the operation were identified as high crime area by a federal initiative called Project Safe Neighborhoods, the marshals service said. The operation also aimed to zero in on people with ties to drug trafficking organizations and transnational criminal organizations. Advertisement As a result, an MS-13 gang member wanted out of Worcester Superior Court for murder and firearm charges was arrested as part of the sweep on May 30 in Pawtucket, R.I., the statement said. The gang member had been wanted since June 2024 and had a criminal history that included assaults and dangerous weapons, the marshals service said. The US Marshals Service is the federal government's primary agency for fugitive investigations and it has the broadest arrest authority among federal law enforcement agencies, the statement said. Tonya Alanez can be reached at
Miami Herald
06-06-2025
- Miami Herald
Man accused in ‘horrific' deaths of family of four in NY arrested, officials say
A man suspected of killing a family of four in New York, including two young children, was arrested in the Dominican Republic, authorities said. Luis Francisco Soriano, also known as Jefry Yevo, was working at a hotel in Punta Cana after learning that federal marshals were in Puerto Rico, where he fled to after the killings, the U.S. Marshals Service said in a June 4 news release. He was one of the USMS District of Puerto Rico's top 10 most wanted fugitives, according to authorities. Dominican authorities and members of the USMS in Santo Domingo arrested the 31-year-old Soriano after he finished a shift at the hotel's call center, authorities said. 'Every case is important to us, but this one not only deeply impacted our communities in New York and Puerto Rico, it shook our entire nation,' Wilmer Ocasio-Ibarra, U.S. Marshal for the District of Puerto Rico, said in the release. 'The horrific nature of this crime, which resulted in the tragic death of a family, including two innocent children, rocked the very foundation of our society governed by law and order.' Soriano and his brother are accused of killing two kids, ages 2 and 4, and their parents at their home in Irondequoit on Aug. 31, 2024, authorities said and WHEC reported. Police found the family dead in the basement while responding to a fire, according to WHEC. Soriano and his brother, Julio Cesar Pimentel-Soriano, who was arrested a week after the killings, face charges including murder, burglary, kidnapping and arson, WHAM reported. Irondequoit is about 5-mile drive northeast from Rochester.
