10-year-old girl safely returned to her parents in Southern United States
A 10-year-old girl, who was at risk of exploitation after wandering away from home, has been returned to her family unharmed.
Violet* was reunited with her relieved parents after around 12 hours, thanks to a joint search operation between Hope for Justice’s investigative hub team and local law enforcement.
As soon as we heard from local police officers that Violet was missing, our team sprang into action to assist in the search effort.
We printed fliers including Violet’s photograph and contact details for the local police, and handed them out in the local area. We spoke to local residents and asked them to report any sightings of her.
A member of the public then contacted the police after seeing the flier, and Violet was collected by police officers and taken to hospital for a check-up. She was there reunited with her relieved and emotional parents.
Richard Schoeberl, US Investigations Team Leader at Hope for Justice, said: “We are very thankful that Violet is now returned to her parents unharmed, and happy to have played our part in finding her.
“Missing children can be vulnerable to exploitation, even if they are only away from home for a number of hours. We therefore regularly assist law enforcement with their searches for missing children, as a vital part of our work in preventing exploitation taking place.
“We have since spoken with Violet’s parents to ensure that they are aware of the risk posed to children who wander off from home, and to also make them aware of how we can help.”
*Name and photo have been changed to protect individual’s identity
