Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier announced a multi-agency operation that led to the safe recovery of 60 children, many of whom were reported missing, and the arrests of eight people in what the United States Marshals Service calls the largest child rescue operation in American history.
“We are here to announce the most successful completion of the largest child rescue operation, not just in Florida history, but in the United States history,” Uthmeier said.
Uthmeier announced the success of "Operation Dragon Eye" alongside partnering federal, state and local law enforcement agencies during a news conference Monday morning in Tampa.
"Protecting our kids and keeping Florida the safest state to raise a family is our number one priority," Uthmeier said. "Today is a result of the hard work to deliver on that promise."
Operation Dragon Eye focused on finding children who were missing, endangered or victims of human trafficking in Hillsborough, Pinellas and Pasco counties. The rescued children ranged in age from nine to seventeen years old.
