The U.S. Marshals Service announced on Monday that the Memphis Safe Task Force (MSTF) recovered 142 missing children since it was deployed on October 1, including two siblings recovered on Sunday.
According to a Marshals press release, a family member reported two children were missing at 10:30 a.m. on Sunday, apparently advising law enforcement that the pair were siblings, and one was a toddler.
Law enforcement found the missing children at separate locations hours later, with the Marshals reporting task force members “developed information through various leads,” which led to their discovery. Both children were turned over to the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services, the Marshals confirmed.
“Behind every child that is not in a safe environment, there are family, friends, and concerned people waiting for their safe return,” said a Marshals spokesman. “Every missing child matters. And our commitment to bring them home will not end.”
The task force originally announced it had recovered more than 100 children last November.
Since the task force was deployed last year, a City of Memphis data portal shows law enforcement has made more than 5,800 arrests, including 2,331 for felony offenses and 3,492 for misdemeanors.
Law enforcement has also completed more than 61,000 traffic stops, seized almost 1,400 illegal firearms, and recovered 780 stolen vehicles.
The presence of law enforcement has also coincided with a 43 percent drop in reports of serious crime in Memphis, as well as an 18.7 percent drop in all calls requiring a police response.
Memphis Mayor Paul Young said in November that the city’s crime rate had fallen to its lowest level since at least 2001, as far back as the city can reliably track the data. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) later confirmed the data was accurate.
President Donald Trump credited the task force for curing the “very sick city” in remarks last year.
“It was very sick city. It was horrible what happened there,” said Trump. “People would go from, if you’re on the board of FedEx, they would ride you one block to the hotel. They said you couldn’t walk it because it was too dangerous. And they’re already feeling better about it.”
He said in October, “Already the numbers are far superior, far, far better than what we would have thought at this time.”
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Tom Pappert is a 2025 recipient of the Dao Prize and the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star. He also reports for the Star News Network. Follow Tom on X. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Memphis Safe Task Force” by Memphis Safe Task Force.
some democrat leftist judge will probably block & send the kids back to the mostly peaceful human traffickers…