AST Digital Magazine June 2017 Digital-June | Page 34

Volume 13
tation and Human Trafficking Task Force.
June 2017 Edition
dangered,” said Special Agent Rob Bornstein,
who supervises WFO’s Crimes Against Children
squad.
“Timing is critical. The earlier we get involved the
better.”
In the Virginia case, agents and analysts traced
the juvenile’s actions from the moment she ar-
rived home from school, dropped off her back-
pack, and left the house again.
“We have a robust task force that includes most
of the local agencies,” said Ray Duncan, assis-
tant special agent in charge of the WFO Criminal
Division.
Once reported, the missing girl’s description was
entered into the FBI’s National Crime Informa-
tion Center (NCIC), an index of criminal justice
information available to every law enforcement
agency in the country.
Investigators coordinated with local and regional
public transit agencies to collect video footage of
the girl’s movements across the region, and then
out of the state.
They were able to determine that the girl had
been sent a bus ticket, which revealed her desti-
nation—more than 1,000 miles away from home.
Last year, there were 465,676 reports of missing
kids, according to NCIC, which automatically no-
tifies NCMEC when kids go missing.
While not all NCIC reports necessitate federal
involvement, the FBI is the lead investigative
agency if a missing juvenile is in danger or when
children 12 or under disappear.
(Learn More. Courtesy of the National Center for Missing &
Exploited Children and YouTube)
The ticket ultimately led to the identity and loca-
tion of a subject. Using other sophisticated tech-
niques, the FBI was able to locate the subject
that led to the missing child.
“Then we will try to step in as soon as possible
because we believe those kids are clearly en-
WFO investigators, including one of the Bureau’s
specialized Child Abduction Rapid Deployment
Teams, reached out to FBI agents in the field,
as well as local authorities, to rescue the girl and
make the arrest.
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