On Friday, July 21, the Hawai’i County Police Department participated in the F.B.I.’s Operation Cross Country XIII.

Operation Cross Country is a coordinated operation among the FBI, other federal agencies, state and local police, and social services agencies across the country to locate and recover runaways considered “high risk” and/or “endangered.”

During Friday’s operation in the Hilo and Puna areas, law enforcement officials located the following juveniles who had previously been reported as runaways:

• Serenity Salmo-Kaawa, 15-year-old female
• U’ilani Leaverton, 15-year-old female
• Shaelynn Gomes, 16-year-old female
• Momi Leonard, 16-year-old female

Also participating in last week’s operation were the U.S. Marshals Service, DOCARE, Missing Child Center Hawai’i, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), along with Child Welfare Services.