NEW ORLEANS - Law enforcement in Louisiana announced the recovery of 14 missing or endangered children in the state, as well as successfully locating an additional child, as part of a four-month-long operation.
Eight people were also arrested as part of the sting, called operation "Summer Knights" and led by the U.S. Marshals Service Eastern District of Louisiana New Orleans.The recoveries included the rescue of a 17-year-old male who had been kidnapped from Jefferson Parish in the New Orleans area and being held for ransom, authorities said.
In early July, three adults fled from law enforcement with the victim in a vehicle and were later arrested when stopped on the Causeway Bridge, while the teen was safely recovered.In another case, a 13-year-old female was recovered in the city of Denham Springs after running away from home.
Authorities said she was believed to have been in contact with an 18-year-old male she met on social media. On July 26, two 12-year-old females were found in the New Orleans area who had run away together weeks earlier and "were known to be in the company of adult males, possibly planning on leaving the state," according to the Marshals Service.