U.S. Marshals in Texas Safely Recover Missing Lincoln Juvenile

Lincoln, NE – A missing Lincoln juvenile was safely recovered in Texas on Thursday.  A woman suspected of taking the juvenile was also arrested.

The U.S. Marshals Service Western District of Arkansas Fugitive Task Force (WAFTF) arrested the woman at a park in Texarkana, Texas.  The missing juvenile was located with her.

The woman was wanted by the Lincoln Police Department (LPD) for misdemeanor contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

June 26, LPD received a report of a missing juvenile who had gone to a friend’s house on June 25 but did not return home.  LPD investigators learned that the juvenile had been seen near the People’s City Mission in Lincoln with a friend and the woman. LPD investigators later learned the woman had purchased three Greyhound bus tickets to Texarkana, Arkansas.

On Monday, the U.S. Marshals Service District of Nebraska’s Metro Fugitive Task Force (MFTF) was asked to assist in locating the juvenile and arresting the woman.  The MFTF requested the assistance of WAFTF to locate the juvenile and arrest the woman in Texarkana.  Thursday, the WAFTF and Texarkana Police Department located both the juvenile and the woman at a park in Texarkana.  

The woman is being held in Texarkana, awaiting extradition to Nebraska.  The juvenile appeared in good health and was taken into protective custody.

The Texarkana Police Department assisted the U.S. Marshals Western District of Arkansas Fugitive Task Force, U.S. Marshals Service District of Nebraska Metro Fugitive Task Force and Lincoln Police Department with the arrest and recovery.

In 2015, the Justice for Juvenile Victims of Trafficking Act was passed, granting the U.S. Marshals Service the authority to assist in all missing child cases regardless of a fugitive nexus. To manage this new authority, the Missing Child Unit was formed.  Since Congress passed the law, the U.S. Marshals Service has assisted in finding or recovering 5,281 missing children.  If you have any information about wanted fugitives or suspected victims of trafficking, please contact the nearest U.S. Marshals office, or the U.S. Marshals Service Communications Center at 1-800-336-0102.