70 Missing Children Recovered in West Texas, Colorado and Mexico

A three-week operation called “Operation Lost Souls” has come to an end, with 70 children recovered from sex trafficking rings in West Texas.

The joint task force operation functioned as a collaboration between a number of law enforcement agencies that included the El Paso Police Department, the FBI, the U.S. Marshals Service, and even Texas Highway Patrol.

The children recovered ranged from 10 to 17 years of age and were recovered from multiple counties in West Texas, including El Paso, Tom Green, Midland, and Ector. Although a majority of the children recovered were in Texas, “Operation Lost Souls” saw successful recoveries in both Colorado and Mexico according to the Washington Examiner.

“Operation Lost Souls exemplifies Homeland Security Investigations’ commitment to protecting the public from crimes of victimization. In this case, we are looking out for our children — our community’s most precious resource,” said HSI El Paso Deputy Special Agent in Charge Taekuk Cho. “HSI is committed to continue working with our law enforcement partners to locate, recover and help missing children heal, while ensuring that perpetrators are held responsible for these heinous crimes and brought to justice.”

Fox News reports that Homeland Security Investigations has confirmed that counseling will be provided to the recovered children by a number of agencies involved with “Operation Lost Souls.”

“At the Department of Public Safety, teamwork is one of our core values,” said DPS Major Matthew Mull. “We are grateful for all of our law enforcement partners who participated in this operation and who work around the clock every day to protect our communities, including our youth.”