Two critically missing Washington children have been recovered in Virginia nearly three years after their mother allegedly took them following a custody loss.
Two critically missing Washington state children who disappeared nearly three years ago have been safely recovered in Virginia after their mother allegedly took them following a custody loss and concealed their identities in an effort to evade law enforcement.
The US Marshals Service announced Wednesday that the children had been reported missing to the Redmond Police Department in December 2023. They were safely located on Sept. 16 and returned to their father.
The case had remained unresolved for more than two years before Redmond police and the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children requested assistance from the US Marshals Service in early August 2026.
Investigators with the agency's Missing Child Unit subsequently determined that the children were in the greater Washington, DC, area. According to federal authorities, the children's mother had taken them after losing custody and concealed their names in an attempt to avoid detection by law enforcement.
Members of the Missing Child Unit pursued investigative leads across three states with assistance from the US Marshals Carolinas Regional Fugitive Task Force, Baltimore County Police Department, and Arlington Police Department.
Authorities have not disclosed precisely where in Virginia the children were found, how their mother allegedly concealed their identities, where they had been living during the nearly three years they were missing, or why federal assistance was not requested until August 2026. The Marshals Service's announcement also did not identify the children or their mother or announce whether the mother had been arrested or charged.
The US Marshals Service classifies children as "critically missing" when they disappear under circumstances indicating an elevated risk to the child. The designation does not necessarily mean authorities believe the children in this case were trafficked or abused, and the agency did not disclose what circumstances led to that designation in this case.
The Marshals Service's role in missing-child cases expanded after Congress passed the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act in 2015. The law gave the agency authority to assist other law enforcement agencies in recovering missing, endangered, or abducted children even when the case does not involve a fugitive or sex offender. The Marshals Service established its Missing Child Unit to oversee those efforts.
Federal data show the program has handled hundreds of cases annually. During fiscal year 2025, law enforcement agencies made 823 requests to the Marshals Service for assistance with missing-child cases, and 583 children were located or recovered with the agency's assistance.
The agency says it has historically located or recovered missing children in 67 percent of cases referred to it, with 61 percent of those children recovered within seven days of Marshals' involvement. The latest figures released Wednesday show that since receiving its expanded authority in 2015, the US Marshals Service has contributed to the location or recovery of 5,281 missing children nationwide.
The Washington case also follows another missing-child recovery involving US Marshals this week. On Monday, authorities announced that two children under 15 who had gone missing in Maine were safely recovered in Dorchester, Massachusetts, following a joint investigation by local police and Marshals Service personnel.
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