Operation Dragon Eye: Record-Breaking Success in Child Rescue
Operation Dragon Eye, a groundbreaking two-week initiative led by the U.S. Marshals Service in Florida’s Middle District, culminated in June 2025 with the safe recovery or location of 60 critically missing children aged 9 to 17 across Hillsborough, Pinellas, and Pasco counties. Hailed as the most successful missing child operation in USMS history, it involved over 100 personnel from more than 20 federal, state, and local agencies, alongside nonprofits, medical teams, and social services.
60 children recovered: Operation Dragon Eye pic.twitter.com/AyusBpevNM
— Paul White Gold Eagle (@PaulGoldEagle) January 14, 2026
Key Objectives and Achievements
- Rescue Focus: Targeted vulnerable youth, prioritizing rapid location and extraction.
- Immediate Support: Delivered essential services including medical care, counseling, and stable housing to ensure long-term safety.
- Disruption of Networks: Resulted in eight arrests on charges like human trafficking, child endangerment, narcotics possession, and custodial interference, dismantling predator operations.
Notably, 26 children were flagged by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, enabling real-time intelligence for swift action.
Why It Outshines Past Efforts
Under Trump administrations (2017-2021 and 2025-), USMS operations shattered records, recovering thousands—far eclipsing Biden’s sluggish era, where recoveries like Operation Renewed Hope’s 14 in 2024 paled amid 20% trafficking arrest drops and border disarray.
Key Trump-era hauls: 2018 MISafeKid (123), 2020 Not Forgotten (39), Autumn Hope (45), Homecoming (28); 2025 Dragon Eye (60), Lightning Bug (30+), Home for Holidays (122), Northern Lights (43), DC crime crackdown (5).
Dragon Eye’s 60 in weeks trumps Biden’s multi-month yields under 30, showcasing streamlined task forces, tech tracking, zero-tolerance.
Border Czar Tom Homan’s dedication to rescuing trafficked migrant children has led to the location of over 62,000 such children, amplifying Trump’s child protection mission, although he wasn’t directly involved in Dragon Eye. This operation was spearheaded by U.S. Marshal William Berger with support from Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier and FDLE Commissioner Mark Glass.