Thirty-four children and teens reported missing to police in Nassau and Suffolk counties and to the NYPD have been located through a three-day Long Island operation, New York state officials announced. The young people ranged in age from 7 to 18 when they were first reported missing, and investigators say the effort connected them with medical care, counseling and safe housing after they were found.
The operation was co-led by the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services Missing Persons Clearinghouse, the Office of Children and Family Services and the National Child Protection Task Force, with support from the New York State Police, according to a report from longisland.com. More than 100 professionals from nearly 40 agencies and organizations took part, working out of a centralized command center set up in Garden City. As CBS News New York reported, the three-day effort covered cases spanning Long Island and New York City.
Command Center Coordinated Leads Across Dozens of Agencies
The operation was coordinated from a centralized command center in Garden City. Once located, the young people received support that included safe placement options, medical care, counseling, transportation, clothing, food and other essentials, the same report states.
Officials called it the fourth operation of its kind in New York State.
Statewide Missing-Child Numbers Vary by Source
Just how many children go missing statewide each year depends on which account you check. The Long Island.com report cites a total of 10,629 children younger than 18 reported missing to police across New York in 2025, with 94 percent of those cases logged as runaways. A separate report from Hudson Valley Post puts the 2025 statewide figure at 2,591 children reported missing, a sharply different number that the available reporting does not reconcile.
Nationally, more than 32,000 children were reported missing in 2025, and 90 percent of them were found, according to the Hudson Valley Post report. The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children attributed that recovery rate to law enforcement collaboration and dedicated resources, the outlet notes. Another recent operation took place in Florida: Operation Statewide Shield found 163 missing children, including dozens in the Miami area, over five days in August, as reported by NBC Miami.
No details have been released about the individual circumstances of the 34 children and teens found on Long Island, including where each was located or whether every case ended in reunification with family. Officials have not indicated whether the operation led to any arrests or other legal action.
