LEXINGTON, Tenn. (WTVF) — A 15-year-old girl reported missing from Nashville in 2023 has been found safe, according to the U.S. Marshals Service.
Officials said the child was reported missing to the Metro Nashville Police Department on July 2, 2023, when she was 13 years old.
Investigators later developed information suggesting she might be in West Tennessee. Authorities believed she was living in Jackson, prompting Lexington police to request assistance from the U.S. Marshals Service.
U.S. Marshals and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation conducted surveillance in Jackson and verified where the girl was staying. During the investigation, officials learned she was at a specific location in Lexington.
Because of what officials described as an urgent situation, Lexington police were called to the location and detained the child until federal and state investigators arrived.
The girl was safely recovered on March 2 and turned over to the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services.
“A child missing for even one hour is one hour too long,” said Tyreece Miller, U.S. Marshal for the Western District of Tennessee. “After more than two years without this child being where she belongs, we are glad to play a role in her safe return.
”The U.S. Marshals Service said its authority to assist with recovering missing and endangered children was expanded under the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act of 2015. Since then, the agency said it has located or recovered more than 4,561 missing children.
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