CMPD Operation Locates Dozens Of Missing, Runaway Juveniles

CHARLOTTE, NC — Twenty-seven missing juveniles were recovered as the result of a recent intensive two-week operation involving local and federal law enforcement and Charlotte metro community organizations, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department said.

The missing and runaway juveniles located were mostly between the ages of 14 and 18. They were found in hotels, staying with friends, and one living with an adult partner. Some of them were involved in high-risk activities including prostitution, narcotics and human trafficking activity, according to police.

The two-week Operation Carolina Homecoming, which ended May 7, represents a collaborative effort among CMPD, the U.S. Marshals Service, Atrium Health's Levine Children's Hospital, Mecklenburg County Child Protective Services and numerous community organizations.

The located teens represent a small portion of missing persons investigations in the Charlotte region, according to CMPD.

Last year, CMPD's missing persons unit investigated more than 2,300 missing persons cases and reported about a 97 percent recovery rate. In the months leading up to Operation Carolina Homecoming, detectives located more than 130 juveniles who had been missing for six months or longer, CMPD Capt. Joel McNelly said.

The focus of the operation was to home in on juveniles who are trying to avoid being recovered, he said. "Obviously, these kids come from traumatic backgrounds, potentially abusive households, drug and alcohol addiction, incarcerated parents — all kinds of hard situations," McNelly said.

"What separates this from our day-to-day action with missing persons is that the goal of this operation was to locate critically missing juveniles where previous efforts had been unsuccessful," McNelly said. "The result of this is we were able to bring those 27 kids back to be reunited with families, to bring them back to [Department of Social Services] custody if that's where they were before."

No arrests were made during the operation, he said, but arrests could be forthcoming.

The partnerships with community health agencies and organizations offered resources aimed at helping the juveniles break from a runaway lifestyle.

The operation was a call to action to recognize and recover vulnerable youth in the community, according to one hospital official.

"The rescue and emergency medical care of vulnerable kids in Charlotte is really just the first step in providing meaningful physical and emotional healing for these kids," said Dr. Stacey Reynolds, chief of pediatric emergency medicine for Atrium Health. "While we are here to celebrate the commitment of the professionals involved in this effort, we also acknowledge that our community remains under-resourced to do this work effectively."

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