SHELBY COUNTY – Thirty missing children from Shelby County have been located following a six-day multi-agency joint operation, which focused on locating missing juveniles.
The effort, led by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation’s Criminal Intelligence Unit Missing Persons Clearinghouse in partnership with the United States Marshals Service, the Memphis Safe Task Force, the Memphis Police Department, and the Department of Children’s Services, took place from July 29 through August 3.
Ahead of the operation, intelligence analysts and detectives identified numerous juveniles reported missing or unaccounted for in the Memphis area. Over the course of the week, teams checked 109 addresses and successfully recovered 30 juveniles, ages 10 to 17, who had been listed as missing, delinquent, or runaways. Two of the juveniles were located in Georgia, and one was found in Mississippi. All are now safe.
TBI’s Missing Persons Clearinghouse, housed within the Criminal Intelligence Unit at the Tennessee Fusion Center, serves as the statewide repository and coordination center for alerts, information, and coordination related to missing persons. It works closely with state and local law enforcement agencies, the Department of Children’s Services, and federal partners across Tennessee and the nation to strengthen efforts to locate and recover missing individuals. The Clearinghouse is staffed by one designated Special Agent and five Criminal Intelligence Analysts who provide daily support to law enforcement, state partners, and non‑profit organizations across the country.
“Many people don’t realize this, but hundreds of children go missing in our state every month,” said TBI Director David Rausch. “From runaways that may leave their home out of desperation or despair, to those entangled in a custody battle, every single one of them deserves a fighting chance, and that’s why they also deserve our best work to help them.”
“The U.S. Marshals Service is incredibly thankful for the collaborative efforts that led to the safe recovery of dozens of missing children in just six days, said Tyreece Miller, U.S. Marshal for the Western District of Tennessee. “This operation underscores the critical importance of swift action in protecting our most vulnerable. Every child deserves to know that someone cared enough to find them.”
