Florida law enforcement officials, working alongside federal and international agencies, spent five days in mid-August locating and recovering missing children.
According to Uthmeier’s office, the children’s circumstances varied: some had run away, while others had been abandoned, neglected, abused or trafficked.
“Many of these kids have been victimized by those who prey on the most vulnerable,” Uthmeier said.
Jayden Allen Harwood, Robert Ferral Allison and Michael Corey Prescott were arrested as part of Florida’s statewide operation focused on suspected child abusers. (Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office; Lee County Sheriff’s Office; Courtesy of the Office of the Florida Attorney General; Florida Department of Law Enforcement)
The August effort marked Florida’s first statewide child-recovery initiative and was the largest operation of its kind in the state’s history, Uthmeier’s office said.
Because of the coordinated work of the agencies involved, he said, “these children are now safe and receiving the care they deserve.”
“Florida will continue leading the recovery of missing children, hunting down every predator and prosecuting abusers to the fullest extent of the law.”
The children were recovered across several U.S. locations, including Florida, Alabama, California, Ohio, New York, North Carolina, Puerto Rico and Tennessee. Uthmeier’s office said others were found internationally in Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Dominica, Finland, Ghana, Guatemala, Italy, Jamaica, Mexico, Spain and Taiwan.
Three men have been arrested so far, a spokesman for Uthmeier told News Outlet.
Officers with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement work to locate and recover missing children during Operation Statewide Shield. (Florida Department of Law Enforcement)
Michael Prescott was arrested on Aug. 21 by the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office. He was charged with three counts of lewd and lascivious acts with a minor, one count of felony battery and one count of aggravated assault.
Prescott already had an active warrant for interference with child custody, according to Uthmeier’s office.
Robert Ferral Allison was arrested on Aug. 20 by the Lee County Sheriff’s Office. He was charged with lewd and lascivious battery on a victim 12 to 16 years old.
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Jayden Allen Harwood, according to Uthmeier’s office, was arrested on charges of interference in a child custody case and resisting officers without violence.
“Many more investigations [have been] started,” a spokesman for Uthmeier’s office said. “More arrests are expected.”
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier speaks at a news conference at the Lee County Sheriff’s Office in Fort Meyers, Fla., on Aug. 13, 2026. (Courtesy of the Office of the Florida Attorney General)
As the children were rescued, local law enforcement officers transported them to hubs, where they received support from social services workers, child welfare professionals, medical providers, victim advocates and other child-centered agencies, according to Uthmeier’s office.
Some of the children were reunited with their families, and some were taken into foster care, a spokesman for the attorney general’s office said.
The recoveries allowed the children’s cases with the Missing and Endangered Persons Information Clearinghouse to be closed, Uthmeier said.
Officers with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement work to locate and recover missing children during Operation Statewide Shield. (Florida Department of Law Enforcement)
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) steered the operation using lessons learned from Operation Dragon Eye and Operation Home for the Holidays, carried out by the U.S. Marshals.
Helping plan and execute the operation were: the Office of Statewide Prosecution, the Department of Children and Families (DCF), the Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ), Baycare, More to Life and the Florida Human Trafficking Victims Fund.
Providing critical assistance were numerous municipal law enforcement agencies and federal partners, and 13 Florida sheriff’s offices including Manatee, Sarasota, Jacksonville, Clay, Nassau, Putnam, St. Johns, Flagler, Orange, Escambia, Hillsborough, Pasco and Pinellas, Uthmeier said.
