The children were safely located Tuesday, Sept. 16, and returned to their father, the U.S. Marshals said.
Two children reported missing from Washington state in December 2023 have been found safe in Virginia after a multi-agency search, according to the U.S. Marshals Service.
The U.S. Marshals said the children were reported missing to the Redmond, Washington, police department.
In early August 2026, Redmond police and the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children asked the U.S. Marshals Service for help.
Investigators with the U.S. Marshals Service Missing Child Unit worked to locate the children and determined they were in the greater Washington, D.C., area.
The agency said it was determined the children’s mother took them after losing custody and concealed their names in an attempt to evade law enforcement.
The U.S. Marshals said members of the Missing Child Unit followed investigative leads across three states with help from the U.S. Marshals Carolinas Regional Fugitive Task Force, the Baltimore County Police Department and the Arlington Police Department.
The children were safely located Tuesday, Sept. 16, and returned to their father, the U.S. Marshals said.
The agency noted that the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act of 2015 expanded the U.S. Marshals’ authority to assist law enforcement in recovering endangered missing children, even when no fugitive or sex offender is involved. The Marshals Service said it established its Missing Child Unit to oversee and manage the implementation of that authority.
Since the act passed in 2015, the U.S. Marshals Service said it has contributed to the location or recovery of 5,281 missing children.
