NEW ORLEANS — U.S. Marshals found five missing and endangered teenage girls in a months-long operation that also resulted in the arrest of 30 others, the agency announced late last month.
The operation, nicknamed "Operation Boo Dat," was carried out by the US Marshals from mid-October to mid-December in the New Orleans area with the assistance of many Louisiana police and sheriff departments. According to a press release from the US Marshals Service, the five girls found varied in age from 14 to 17.
According to the announcement, one of the girls was a 16-year-old who had left her home and had stolen a relative's vehicle and weapon. According to the agency, she was discovered in a New Orleans residence with several adults, including a strip club dancer.
A 14-year-old "with probable sex trafficking ties" was discovered in New Orleans with a 17- and 15-year-old, according to the agency. In Baton Rogue, Louisiana, a third recovery discovered a 15-year-old runaway with "previous human sex trafficking concerns," but their sex trafficker had recently been murdered.
The agency claimed that two sisters, ages 15 and 16, were discovered in a Baton Rouge apartment and "may be victims of adult(s) felony criminal sexual activities."
