Overview
- U.S. Marshals located the child at a roughly 20-acre encampment called “The Jungle” on Thursday, June 25, after receiving a tip on June 18 from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
- Deputy marshals worked with the Washington State Department of Corrections and local police to search the site and transferred the juvenile to the Olympia Police Department and the Washington State Department of Children, Youth and Families for care.
- Officials said the case was treated as having an elevated risk of human and sex trafficking, and the Marshals credited multiagency coordination for the recovery.
- Authorities have not released the child's identity or age, have not named any suspects, and investigations continue into how the child left Mesa and whether trafficking networks were involved.
- The encampment is known for high rates of crime and violence and houses an estimated 100 to 250 people, a reality that city and state officials say has prompted planning for a phased approach to reduce its population and improve public safety.