Florida officials said Monday a two-week sweep dubbed “Operation Home for the Holidays” located or safely recovered 122 missing children and led to six felony arrests.
The U.S. Marshals Service led the multiagency effort across Tampa Bay, Orlando, Jacksonville and Fort Myers, with additional recoveries in nine other states, according to Attorney General James Uthmeier’s office. The children ranged from 23 months to 17 years old. (RELATED: FBI Rounds Up Hundreds Of Alleged Child Abusers As Agency Gets Back To Basics)
“Thanks to one of the single largest child-rescue operations in U.S. history, 122 missing children are safe,” Uthmeier said in a press release. “Many of these kids have been victimized in unspeakable ways. We will prosecute their abusers to the fullest extent of the law.”
We will keep working with all law enforcement partners to find every missing child.
And to the predators who prey upon and abuse our little ones, we are coming for you and we prosecute to the max. https://t.co/HDGTrNwJne
— James Uthmeier (@JamesUthmeierFL) November 17, 2025
Officials said teams recovered 57 children in the Tampa Bay region, 14 in Orlando, 22 in Jacksonville and 29 in Fort Myers, with additional cases tied to out-of-state locations. U.S. Marshal William Berger called it a community-driven operation and said the agency was “honored to play a leading role.”
Uthmeier announced the results at a Tampa news conference and posted the briefing video on his official X account.
Attorney General James Uthmeier joins U.S. Marshal Berger in Tampa to announce largest child rescue mission in history. https://t.co/PHxdn3aFRT
— Attorney General James Uthmeier (@AGJamesUthmeier) November 17, 2025
Florida’s Department of Law Enforcement and child-welfare partners deployed investigators and victim specialists alongside Marshals to locate missing and endangered youth, then linked them to services, Uthmeier’s office said. The Attorney General’s Office of Statewide Prosecution is taking multiple felony cases generated by the operation, including sexual battery on a child and custodial interference.
State officials compared the scale to June’s “Operation Dragon Eye,” which recovered 60 critically missing children in Central Florida, saying the new push surpassed that effort, according to WCAX3 News.
Law enforcement urged families with information about missing or endangered children to contact authorities immediately.
