A three-day operation in Westchester County, New York, has resulted in dozens of missing children and teens being located, according to the state Division of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS).
On February 13, the DCJS announced that 43 missing children and teens had been located as a result of an operation that brought together over 70 local, state, and federal agencies, nonprofit organizations, and private partners to give investigative support to police departments across the country.
On February 16, the division released an update claiming that three more children and teenagers had been located.
The Context
The National Child Protection Task Force (NCPTF) stated that Amber alerts are only issued for less than one percent of missing children. To issue an alert, law enforcement must have a reasonable belief that an abduction has happened or that the kid is in imminent danger of serious physical damage or death.
This implies that in many missing kid situations where the child has left home voluntarily and is thus categorized as a runaway, Amber Alerts are not routinely issued, lowering public awareness of the significant number of children missing each year, according to the NCPTF.
In New York in 2025, 10,629 minors under the age of 18 were reported missing to police, with 94 percent of them being runaways. DCJS reported that by the end of the year, they had closed 10,672 cases, while 1,079 remained open.
However, the NCPTF underlined that even if a child leaves home freely and goes missing, making them a runaway, they are still considered “endangered.” According to data from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), one in every seven children reported missing as runaways is considered to have been a victim of child sex trafficking.
What To Know
According to DCJS, the 43 children and teens were between the ages of 8 and 17 when they were reported missing.
The Westchester operation was organized by DCJS’s Missing Persons Clearinghouse, the New York State Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS), and the National Crime Prevention Task Force.
According to the division, participating groups reviewed case notes, followed up on new leads, and employed technology to trace digital footprints, while private-sector partners expedited key support requests to assist in the location of endangered youngsters.
During the investigation, approximately 100 people crowded into an event space in Mount Kisco, where state officials and NCPTF volunteers coordinated investigative and support services, Spectrum News 1 said.
The DCJS Missing Persons Clearinghouse and the NCPTF have coordinated this third operation. The first operation in Erie County resulted in the recovery of 47 children reported missing by police departments in Buffalo and Amherst, while the second in the Capital Region recovered 71 children reported missing by police departments in Albany, Schenectady, and Troy.
What Happens Next
Officials advocated for more collaborative operations involving other missing-person reports to find as many missing children and teens as possible.
