37 Missing Children Found in Riverside County Anti-Trafficking )peration

In a law enforcement anti-trafficking effort in Riverside County, 37 missing children between the ages of 14 and 17 have been found in a weeklong “recovery operation,” authorities announced.

Some were victims of crimes including child sex trafficking and sexual assault, the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department said.

The Sheriff’s Department, along with the California attorney general’s office, various police agencies, federal law enforcement agencies and victim advocacy and community groups, worked to find the children and provide victim advocacy services, medical support if needed and follow-up resources before reuniting them with a legal guardian, the department said.

The operation, which included the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department Anti-Human-Trafficking Task Force and the U.S. Marshals Service, focused on children that have been missing for one month to two years, according to the Sheriff’s Department.