Three missing children from across Central Ohio were recovered safe within a single operation this week, and a wanted fugitive with a history of firearms and drug charges is now sitting in the Franklin County Jail. The recoveries and arrest all happened on August 13, carried out by a U.S. Marshals-led task force that spends most of its time chasing violent felons but increasingly finds itself locating missing kids along the way.
According to WSYX, officers with the Southern Ohio Fugitive Apprehension Strike Team, known as SOFAST, found a 13-year-old girl who had been reported missing at a home in the 900 block of Hibbs Road in Lockbourne. She was turned over to the Columbus Division of Police. At that same address, officers arrested 24-year-old Cristalinn Rood, who was wanted on a probation violation tied to earlier firearms and drug charges, and took her to the Franklin County Jail.
The recoveries didn't stop there. SOFAST officers also located and recovered a missing 16-year-old at a restaurant on Harrisburg Pike in Columbus, handing that teen over to Columbus police as well. A third child, a 15-year-old girl, was found near Tuttle Mall in Dublin and turned over to Franklin County juvenile authorities. All three recovered children are safe, per the same account.
A Task Force Built for Fugitives, Now Finding Kids Too
Columbus SOFAST is a U.S. Marshals Service-led task force that draws on the FBI, the Franklin County Sheriff's Office, the Columbus Division of Police and the Ohio State Highway Patrol. The broader Southern Ohio Fugitive Apprehension Strike Team covers 48 counties across the southern half of the state, with task force headquarters in Columbus, Cincinnati and Dayton, pulling personnel from roughly 70 federal, state and local agencies who are cross-deputized as Special Deputy U.S. Marshals, according to the U.S. Marshals Service. The team's usual mandate centers on violent felons, gang members and fugitives wanted on weapons and drug charges.
That the same task force is now recovering missing children isn't an accident of overlap — it's built into federal law. Under the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act of 2015, the U.S. Marshals Service holds statutory authority to help local, state and federal agencies locate missing, endangered or exploited children whether or not a fugitive or sex offender is involved, per the U.S. Department of Justice. The legislation effectively created a dedicated Missing Child Unit inside an agency once known almost exclusively for fugitive apprehension.
Michael D. Black, the U.S. Marshal overseeing the district, said the crossover makes sense given the skill set involved. “Deputy United States Marshals are exceptional investigators who daily locate and arrest our community's most violent fugitives,” Black said, adding that the same resources and techniques can help law enforcement partners locate and recover missing children.
Franklin County's Outsized Share of Ohio's Missing-Kid Cases
The Columbus-area recoveries land in a county that consistently posts the highest missing-child numbers in Ohio. Franklin County recorded 2,792 missing child cases in 2024, more than any other county statewide, according to statewide clearinghouse data reported by WYSO, with youth aged 13 to 17 accounting for the vast majority of those reports.
Statewide numbers released in May by the Ohio Attorney General's Office show 15,367 children were reported missing across Ohio in 2025, with 97.8 percent — 15,024 kids — safely recovered by year's end. Of those cases, 7,656 involved runaway juveniles who left home without permission, dwarfing the 22 noncustodial parent abductions and two stranger abductions recorded statewide that year. Total missing person filings across Ohio also fell, from 21,342 in 2024 to 19,930 in 2025, a statewide drop of 1,412 reports.
Part of a Broader Pattern of Multi-Agency Sweeps
This week's recoveries follow a pattern of large joint operations in Central Ohio. In February, SOFAST led a six-day initiative called Operation Clean House alongside HUD-OIG, the Franklin County Sheriff's Office and the Ohio State Highway Patrol, arresting more than 50 felony fugitives found living in government-subsidized housing in Columbus, according to HUD-OIG. Hoodline has also covered a downtown fugitive dragnet and a West Side standoff tied to the same task force this year.
Nationally, the Marshals Service has run similar large-scale efforts before. During Operation We Will Find You 2, conducted from May to June 2024, federal investigators recovered 200 critically missing children across seven judicial districts nationwide, with 57 percent found within seven days of joining the search, and 173 of those 200 kids classified as endangered runaways. Ohio has its own precedent too: a 2020 initiative called Operation Autumn Hope, which involved more than 50 law enforcement agencies, recovered 45 missing children and rescued 109 human trafficking survivors while producing 177 arrests.
The work carries real risk for the officers involved. In April, a federal fugitive pursued by Columbus SOFAST pleaded guilty to attempted murder of federal officers after opening fire during a hotel apprehension attempt in Springfield while three young children were present in the room, according to the Justice Department. SWAT negotiators eventually secured a peaceful surrender after several hours. What happens next for the three children recovered this week — including any longer-term living arrangements or protective custody decisions once they were handed to Columbus police or Franklin County juvenile authorities — was not detailed in available reporting.
The U.S. Marshals Service continues to seek tips on wanted fugitives through the USMS Tips App or by calling 1-877-WANTED2.
