DAYTON — Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost said 50 law enforcement agencies across the state led an operation that has resulted in the rescue of more than 100 human trafficking survivors and 177 arrests.
News Center 7′s Mike Campbell and photo-journalist Chuck Hamlin were embedded with the Dayton US Marshal’s office unit as they searched across the area for victims of human trafficking.
One of the US Marshal’s main job is to track down adult fugitives but now they are filling the gaps in local law enforcement by searching for missing kids.
“Our jurisdiction is anywhere in the United States or it’s territories,” explained US Marshals, Dayton Office Supervisor Charles Sanso.
There are four US Marshal teams in southern Ohio and News Center 7 rode with the Dayton unit as they looked for kids assigned to them by a task force.
This new responsibility is different from what the marshals did before but it has become very personal for this team.
“I’m a father, the guys on the team, they have children, this a hits home to us,” explained Sanso. “It’s important to the community, it’s important to us.”
The Dayton unit was one part of a statewide operation known as “autumn hope” aimed at shutting down human trafficking and helping endangered children.
“The number are pretty staggering,” explained Sanso. “Not just dozens, several hundred across the state.”
Once the US Marshals find kids that are missing or endangered, they call the agency that reported them missing and decide the next right step for them and where they should be placed.
Cox Media Group
