Marshal Service ‘Missing Child Unit’ Deals With Runaway, Missing, Endangered Teens

CLEVELAND, Ohio (News Talk 1480 WHBC) – It seemed simpler in the “old” days.

Teenagers who voluntarily left their homes were considered “runaways”.

Now you mix in young people who just turn up missing, plus the element of human trafficking.

It makes the job of the U.S. Marshal Service Missing Child Unit that much more complicated.

So the Northern District of Ohio office of the specialized unit says each case is handled separately.

That includes the need to tag the “missing” teen as “endangered” or not.

The unit recently returned a 16-year-old Perry Township girl who had been gone for nearly a month.

The Missing Child Unit became a function of the Marshal Service about six years ago.