Operation Missing in the Metroplex, a 30-day joint law enforcement operation, helped rescue 31 North Texas children, including a 13-year-old who was being held in a Fort Worth apartment.

Fort Worth Police Department Investigator Sgt. Derek Johnson, from the human trafficking unit, said this investigation process was different from others in that they partnered with the U.S. Marshals Service and task force personnel to locate the juveniles.

The U.S. Marshal Service, Homeland Security Investigations and state and local authorities work year-round to rescue lost children.

The federal agencies partnered with four local police departments – the Arlington Police Department, the Dallas Police Department, the Fort Worth Police Department, and the Grand Prairie Police Department – to locate the missing minors.

The Justice Department records more than 420,000 reports of missing children each year.