The U.S. Marshals Service announced on Tuesday, September 8th, that 79 reported missing and endangered children have been recovered across the state of Ohio as part of Operation Meridian. Operation Meridian began last month, with the Marshals Service coordinating with other federal, state, and local law enforcement to carry out the swift and safe recovery of children suspected of being victims of kidnappers, sex traffickers, and other adults guilty of physical and emotional abuse.
The operation’s successful rescue of 79 children between the ages of 6 and 17 is the largest missing child operation in the history of Ohio.
“The United States Marshals Service, through its fugitive task forces, locates and arrests the most violent fugitives in our communities,” U.S. Marshal Michael Black said in an official statement. “Using the same resources and methods we have the ability to seek and recover missing and endangered children. We are proud to be able to assist our law enforcement partners in locating and reuniting missing children with their families.”
Among the cases released to the public is one long-term missing child case. Here, a pair of sisters aged 13 and 16 were reported missing in July 2024 and April 2026 respectively. The 13-year-old girl was found concealed in a basement crawlspace hidden beneath a bedroom closet at a home located in the 900 block of Hibbs Road in Lockbourne, Ohio. The older sister was rescued later that same day by members of the Marshals Service and the Columbus Police Department at a restaurant in Columbus.
In another case that has been divulged to the public, a 16-year-old girl had been reported missing from her Toledo, Ohio, home on August 18. She was suspected of being a human trafficking victim. Members of the Toledo Police Department and the U.S. Marshals SPEAR (Specialized Personnel for Enforcement, Apprehension, and Recovery) worked tirelessly on leads in Toledo and Michigan until they located the young woman with an adult male at an address in the 1000 block of Woodward Avenue in Toledo. The adult male was interviewed at the scene, while the 16-year-old was transported to a nearby medical facility for physical evaluation. The possibility of criminal charges remains open.
Despite the success of Operation Meridian, the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation’s Missing Persons Unit reports that there are still 821 children missing in the Buckeye State.
The recovery of missing and/or trafficked children has been one of the more underreported successes of both of President Trump’s administrations. During the summer of 2020, the U.S. Marshals Service Missing Child Unit rescued 26 missing children in the state of Georgia as part of Operation Not Forgotten. A year prior, the U.S. Marshals aided in the recovery of 295 missing children and had helped to recover 75 percent of missing children in all the cases that they received. Sadly, these numbers are only minor victories, as the FBI’s NCIC (National Crime Information Center) states that 305,339 individuals under the age of 18 were reported missing in 2025.
