From NBC LA: Riverside County authorities identified more than 50 missing children and rescued 37 of them through a week-long anti-human trafficking operation, Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco told NBC Los Angeles Friday.
Operation Safe Return located teens between the ages of 14 and 17 in Riverside County as well as Northern California, Nevada and Arizona. Among them, 37 children were safely rescued, Bianco said.
“Our sex trafficking is through hotels events and apps online,” Bianco said, explaining human trafficking works differently in Riverside County.
The operation involved federal and more than a dozen law enforcement agencies.
They rescued 37 children and returned them home. The sheriff said the rescued children will receive victim advocacy services, medical support, and follow-up resources.
Some of the rescued teens had been victims of child sex trafficking and sex assault, the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department said.
Seven arrests were made, including one for alleged child sex trafficking.
Bianco said the public can help stop human trafficking and rescue victims.
“We want license plate numbers, descriptions and pictures. And we follow up on every lead because you never know what we are going to find,” the sheriff said.
Read more at NBC LA
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