ATLANTA — Nearly 80 missing children have been located as part of a months-long U.S. Marshals operation, including at least one child found in Georgia.

Operation Meridian focused on locating 79 missing children from Ohio between the ages of 6 and 17. The children had been reported missing under a range of circumstances, including suspected sex trafficking, physical and emotional abuse, neglect, running away and other forms of endangerment.

“Some of these kids were runaways, some were neglected, some abandoned; we got a little bit of everything during the course of this,” U.S. Marshal Pete Elliott said.

The search extended beyond Ohio, with at least one of the children tracked down in Georgia.

“Some are in pretty bad situations and then some of these children are being trafficked, some are being prosecuted out, some ran far and some ran very far,” Elliott said.

In one case, a 13-year-old girl was found being kept in a basement crawlspace hidden beneath the floor of a bedroom closet.

Elliott said law enforcement agencies and social services worked together during the operation. The children located are receiving care that includes counseling and family reunification.

Elliott also urged parents to monitor their children’s online activity as much as possible to help protect them from potential predators and other dangers.