Winnipeg police found eight missing youth in one day as part of a joint initiative aimed at helping young people who are at-risk of sexual exploitation.
Police said on June 28 officers worked with outreach workers from a number of Winnipeg organizations to check 28 location that are known to be frequented by high-risk, missing youth as part of ‘Project Return.’
“Ultimately our concern here is the welfare of these kids, scaring them isn’t to anyone’s advantage," said Const. Rob Carver.
"We need to develop long-term relationships so if they do go missing we know enough about them that we can figure out where they might be. Also that they know they’re safe if they get in police hands.”
Police say when they embarked on the one-day blitz there were 74 reported missing youth in the city who had yet to be found, and the initiative resulted in eight of them being located and taken to a safe location.
According to a news release, police receive 600 missing persons’ reports on a monthly basis, and in 2018 they received a total of 7361 such reports.
