USMS Helps Find Missing Tennessee Teen After Two-Year Search
A 15-year-old Tennessee girl who had been missing for more than two years was found safe thanks to the work of the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS) and Tennessee law enforcement agencies.
The then-13-year-old girl was first reported missing in July 2023 in Nashville by one of her parents.
“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.”
At some point during the investigation, Tennessee law enforcement developed intelligence that the child was living in Lexington, Tennessee, about 100 miles west of Nashville.
That’s when local authorities enlisted the help of USMS.
USMS and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) conducted surveillance and pinpointed the exact location of the child in Lexington. Once pinpointed, USMS called Lexington Police who arrived at the location and detained the child. The child was ultimately turned over to the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services.
No additional information on charges or the circumstances surrounding the disappearance was provided.
USMS received enhanced authority to assist other law enforcement agencies with the recovery of missing endangered or exploited children under the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act of 2015. Since then, USMS has located or recovered more than 4,561 missing children.
Tennessee meanwhile had 944 open missing persons cases in 2025, the seventh-highest among all U.S. states.
