Key Takeaways
- Florida's first statewide child-recovery sweep, "Operation Statewide Shield," located 163 missing children during five days of fieldwork in mid-August, with leads eventually reaching six other U.S. states, Puerto Rico and a dozen countries.
- Miami-Dade produced the second-largest regional total, 41 children, behind Tampa Bay's 46, in a county where roughly seven in ten residents identify as Hispanic or Latino.
- Three men face charges tied to the sweep so far, and Attorney General James Uthmeier's office says additional arrests are likely as several investigations remain open.
