ST. LOUIS—During a nationwide enforcement campaign called “Operation Cross Country,” the FBI St. Louis Division, working with its federal, state, and local partners identified and located nine actively missing juveniles. “We wanted to get to these missing juveniles before the sex traffickers did,” said Special Agent in Charge Jay Greenberg of the FBI St. Louis Division. “We thank the Missouri Department of Social Services Children’s Division for partnering with us to provide the needs of these juveniles, so they do not fall prey to sex trafficking.”

FBI St. Louis worked with and thanks law enforcement and non-governmental agencies from:

• St. Louis County Special Investigations/MOICAC
• St. Charles County Cyber Crime Task Force
• St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department
• Franklin County Sheriff’s Office
• Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office
• Homeland Security Investigations (HSI)
• Missouri Department of Social Services Children’s Division
• Missouri Department of Social Services State Technical Assistance Team (STAT)
• International Institute of St. Louis

The FBI-led nationwide initiative, in partnership with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), focused on identifying and locating victims of sex trafficking and investigating and arresting individuals and criminal enterprises involved in both child sex and human trafficking. Law enforcement agencies conducted targeted operations to identify and apprehend offenders, dismantling criminal networks and preventing further harm to victims. Those suspects identified will be subject to additional investigation for potential charges.

Nationwide, the two-week campaign resulted in:

• Identifying and locating 200 victims of sex trafficking (adult and minor victims)
• Identifying or arresting 126 suspects of child sexual exploitation and human trafficking offenses (adult and minor victims of sex and labor trafficking)
• Identifying or arresting 68 suspects of sex and labor trafficking of adults
• Locating 59 victims of child sex trafficking and child sexual exploitation offenses
• Locating 59 actively missing children

The FBI remains steadfast in its commitment to combating child exploitation and human trafficking. Operation Cross Country is just one facet of the Bureau’s ongoing efforts to protect the most vulnerable members of society and hold offenders accountable. The FBI encourages continued vigilance, cooperation, and reporting from the public to help identify and recover victims and bring perpetrators to justice.

Resources:

• Victim Services Division
• Crimes Against Children
• National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC)
• NCMEC’s 24/7 call center number: 1-800-THE-LOST (843-5678)

Editor’s note: b-roll from Operation Cross Country XII operations can be found/downloaded here: Operation Cross Country 2022 B-Roll — FBI