Dozens of Missing Children Rescued in Three-Day New York Operation
34 children and teenagers, ranging in age from seven to 18, were located in a coordinated effort involving multiple agencies.
A three-day operation successfully located 34 missing children and teenagers from New York City and Long Island, officials announced Friday. The rescued minors, whose ages spanned from seven to 18, had been missing for periods ranging from a few days to up to a decade.
The initiative, a collaboration between law enforcement, advocates, and social workers, involved over 100 individuals from approximately 40 agencies and organizations. Investigators coordinated their efforts from a central command center established in a Garden City hotel on Long Island.
Kevin Branzetti, co-founder and CEO of the National Child Protection Task Force, emphasized that missing children are a community-wide concern, not solely a police or social services issue. The rescued group included 18 youths from Nassau County, 12 from Suffolk County, and four from Queens. Other minors were located but had since become adults or declined to return home.
Nassau Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder stated that one 17-year-old was found with a known felon in Manhattan. Ryder also noted that some missing youths may have cognitive issues or difficulties at home, and that many were located using cellphone tracking and social media analysis. He added that some tools employed by the task force are not typically available to law enforcement without a subpoena.
Despite the success, 31 additional cases of missing children remain open on Long Island and in Queens, according to state officials. Branzetti highlighted that reuniting children is only the first step, with the ultimate goal being their sustained safety, as about half of found minors reportedly go missing again.
DaMia Harris-Madden, commissioner of the New York State Office of Children and Family Services, indicated that most of the minors left voluntarily, though some were found to have been victims of exploitation or trafficking. The operation aimed to provide these children with resources to prevent them from running away or disappearing again.
Some of the children were found in locations as far away as Pennsylvania. New York Governor Kathy Hochul's office reported that the mission, which took months of planning, provided the rescued minors with necessary support, including safe placement, medical care, counseling, and transportation.
This operation marks the fourth such successful child rescue initiative in New York, following previous efforts in Erie County, Westchester County, and the Capital Region, which collectively located 168 missing children and teens. In 2025, New York State police recorded 10,629 missing minor reports, with 94% classified as runaways. Law enforcement closed 10,672 cases in the same year, leaving 1,079 active missing children's cases statewide at the end of 2025.