Garden City, New York — Thirty-four missing children were located and rescued across Long Island and Queens during a 72-hour law enforcement operation this week, officials announced Friday, bringing some disappearances to an end after periods ranging from just a few days to as long as 10 years.
The operation, known as the “Long Island Children Rescue Operation,” ran from Tuesday through Thursday and brought together nearly 100 professionals representing 40 agencies and organizations. Investigators worked from a command center in Garden City, Nassau County, as teams searched for vulnerable children and connected them with medical care, essential supplies and other support services.
While most of the children were identified as runaways, officials said some had experienced exploitation and human trafficking.
Children Found Across Three New York Areas
According to officials, the children located during the operation included 18 from Nassau County, 12 from Suffolk County and four from Queens.
The cases involved children between the ages of 7 and 18, with some having been missing for only several days and others for years.
The operation also highlighted the continuing scale of missing-child cases across New York.
New York State Police Superintendent Steven James said:
“A total of 10,629 children younger than 18 were reported missing to police across New York State in 2025, with 94% reported as runaways,”
He added:
“During that year, police closed 10,672 cases involving children reported missing in 2025 or earlier years. At the end of 2025, there were 1,079 active missing children cases statewide.”
The governor’s office said 31 local missing-child cases remain open following the latest operation.
Officials Say Finding a Child Is Only the First Step
The investigation involved law enforcement officers, child welfare professionals and organizations focused on protecting missing and exploited children.
Officials said the goal was not simply to locate the children but also to understand what happened to them while they were missing and determine what support they needed afterward.
Kevin Branzetti, chief executive officer of the National Child Protection Task Force, said:
“Not every case ends with a dramatic rescue, a door being kicked in, and a child being carried to safety,”
He continued:
“The reality is that finding a child quickly — hopefully before something bad happens — often takes a coordinated effort. But finding them is only the first step,”
Branzetti added:
“We need to listen and understand why they left, what they experienced while they were gone, and most importantly, what we can do to help.”
That approach can be particularly important in runaway cases, where officials may need to determine why a child left and whether the child encountered additional risks while away from home.
Fourth Major Child Rescue Operation in New York
The Long Island operation is the fourth large-scale child rescue effort of its kind in New York.
Previous operations in Erie County, the Capital Region and Westchester County resulted in the location of 168 missing children and teenagers.
The latest effort follows a major operation in Westchester County in February that recovered 43 missing and runaway children.
That investigation was led by the state’s Division of Criminal Justice Services and involved approximately 70 federal, state and local agencies. Teams operated from a hotel in Mount Kisco while investigators focused on communities with significant numbers of missing-child cases.
Those communities included Dobbs Ferry, Mount Pleasant, Mount Vernon, White Plains and Yonkers, according to the Division of Criminal Justice Services.
Multiagency Efforts Continue Across New York
The Westchester operation also demonstrated how multiple agencies can work together from a centralized location.
Tim Williams, program manager at the division’s Missing Person’s Clearinghouse, described the advantage of having investigators and specialists working together in the same room.
He said:
“Everyone is in the room focused on one task, and when something is needed, it’s a conversation across the table instead of a phone call,”
The latest Long Island operation followed a similar model, bringing professionals from different agencies together to identify children, determine their circumstances and connect them with appropriate assistance.
For the families involved, the recovery of 34 children brings an end to periods of uncertainty that in some cases lasted years.
Officials emphasized that locating a missing child is only the beginning of the recovery process, with continued care and support needed to address the circumstances surrounding each disappearance.
What do you think about the coordinated effort that helped locate these 34 children? Share your thoughts in the comments.
