Nashville Tennessean
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – A coordinated effort led to the recovery of 150 missing children across Tennessee, the state s Bureau of Investigation announced Wednesday.
Planning for Operation Volunteer Strong began in fall 2020, when 240 children were identified statewide. The operation launched on Jan. 4 with series of two-week blitzes in East Tennessee, Middle Tennessee and West Tennessee. Those led to the recovery of 150 of those children, the TBI said in a news release.
At least five of the children were potential victims of human trafficking, according to the release. Cases are still open for each of them. One child was rescued during a kidnapping investigation, resulting in the arrest of a suspect.
150 Missing Tennessee Children Recovered in Joint Operation by US Marshals, Other Agencies
A joint operation by law enforcement that started months ago have recovered 150 children who had gone missing in Tennessee.
The U.S. Marshals Service, the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services (DCS), and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) announced on Wednesday that their effort to identify and locate missing children, named “Operation Volunteer Strong,” recovered 150 out of the 240 missing children identified across the state.
Shelly Smitherman, the TBI’s Assistant Special Agent in Charge, said at a press conference that the recovered children were from 3 to 17 years old. Commissioner Jennifer Nichols with Tennessee’s DCS said that 93 of the 150 were DCS children, most of whom were girls.
A total of 150 missing children from Tennessee have been recovered during a months-long joint law enforcement operation, according to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) on Wednesday.