How Gwinnett County Officers Found Three Missing Children

GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. – The Gwinnett County Sheriff’s Office recently reported that the Trafficking and Child Exploitation (TRACE) Unit successfully recovered three missing children and arrested a man accused of meeting a child for sexual purposes. The move comes amid concerns about the high number of missing children in the county.

Austin Godfrey, Assistant Chief of Field Operations, explained that the unit focuses on protecting vulnerable children, like the three who were recently rescued during an operation at Oakbrook Parkway in Norcross. “We know that they are very vulnerable and they are part of some of our most vulnerable populations,” he said.

READ MORE: 3 children rescued in human trafficking operation in Gwinnett County, sheriff says

While no arrests have been made directly from this seizure, authorities are investigating possible involvement in human trafficking and expect future arrests if evidence supports it. “If we can determine that there is a human trafficker involved, absolutely,” he promised.

In August, it was reported that Gwinnett County police were searching for more than 20 missing teens, raising alarms about how children survive when they go missing and the dangers of exploitation. Godfrey noted that predators often take advantage of these vulnerable children, using their need for basic survival supplies as leverage. “If that child is missing out there, what do they use as currency? You know, how are they doing, where are they sleeping? Where are they doing, how are they eating? You know, and so there’s a level of survival involved. And then there are people who will exploit that,” he said.

The TRACE Unit works undercover, both online and on the streets, to apprehend traffickers and predators. In recent operations, two men were arrested for soliciting sex from minors, while a 42-year-old man was caught after attempting to meet what he thought was a child for sexual activity. “We had another one yesterday … it was a 42-year-old male, I believe, who, you know, thought they were talking to a child and had started talking about, you know, sexual acts, sexual activity, and had arranged to meet. And when they did that, that person was arrested,” Godfrey said.

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Godfrey credited the unit’s proactive approach for its success, stressing that it works tirelessly to protect children. “We’re not going to sit back and wait. You know, we’re going to get to work. We’re there all the time. And that’s what we do every day,” he said.

The sheriff’s office also encourages the public to report suspected child exploitation by contacting the TRACE unit’s tip line at 770-619-6655.