U.S. Marshals and Local Partners Receive Attorney General's Award

Cleveland, OH – United States Marshal Peter Elliott is pleased to announce that members of the U.S. Marshals Service in Northern Ohio and their law enforcement and community partners are recipients of the 69th Annual Attorney General's Award. These are the highest awards presented by the Attorney General in recognition of the outstanding contributions of employees throughout the Department of Justice.

The U.S. Marshals Service and their partners were selected for the Outstanding Contributions for Community Partnerships for Public Safety award, which recognizes outstanding achievement in the development of community partnerships designed to address public safety within a community. The award recognizes the significant contributions of citizens and organizations that have assisted the Department in the accomplishment of these programs.

This award honors the recipients for their dedicated work in locating and recovering missing children across the Northern District of Ohio. Over the past eighteen months, the U.S. Marshals Service has partnered directly with local law enforcement agencies and members of the community to run targeted searches for missing and endangered juveniles. Operation Safety Net, which concluded in September 2020, resulted in the recovery of 35 missing children and the establishment of a permanent Missing Child Unit. In August 2021, another targeted effort was run in the Akron area which resulted in 23 missing/endangered juveniles being located and recovered. Dozens more juveniles have been safely recovered since the start of the Missing Child Unit.

The strong working relationship between the U.S. Marshals Service, local law enforcement and members of the community directly contribute to the successful recovery of missing juveniles. Here in Northern Ohio, the partners work not only to safely recover juveniles, but to also have a positive recovery plan in place for the juveniles once they are recovered.

U.S. Marshal Pete Elliott stated, "Without the dedicated members of local law enforcement and the unwavering support of these community members, the success would not be what it is when it comes to recovering our missing. I am very proud of all the members of our team for their dedicated service to Operation Safety Net and their continued perseverance in finding our most vulnerable missing children."

The following have been selected as award recipients for the Community Partnership for Public Safety Award:

• U.S. Marshals Northern District of Ohio
• William Boldin, Criminal Investigator
• Anne Murphy, Assistant Chief
• John Majoy, Chief of Police Newburgh Heights Police Department
• Scott Gardner, Chief of Police East Cleveland Police Department
• Amanda Berry, Survivor and Missing Person Advocate
• Carrie Young, Producer, Fox Channel 8 News
• Andy Fishman, News Director, Fox Channel 8 News
• Bernie Kosar, Former Cleveland Browns Quarterback
• Gina DeJesus, Survivor and Founder of The Cleveland Center for Missing Persons
• Karen McHenry, Bellefaire JCB Missing and Homeless Youth Program
• Kara Davis, Program Administrator, Cuyahoga Children and Family Services
• Maureen Draye, Program Administrator, Cuyahoga Children and Family Services.