TAMPA — Florida has celebrated the recovery of 163 missing children.

But behind the celebration is a disturbing reality: authorities say many of those children had been exposed to abuse, neglect, exploitation or other criminal activity.

And while the children have been located, investigators are still working to understand what happened in the individual cases.

Operation Statewide Shield was launched as a five-day statewide effort from August 17 through August 21. Led by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, it brought together multiple agencies with a common objective: identify, locate and recover vulnerable children under 18.

The result was 163 recoveries.

The children ranged from just two months old to 17 years old.

Authorities reported 46 recoveries in Tampa Bay, 41 in Miami, 32 in Jacksonville, 21 in Orlando, 12 in Fort Myers, eight in Pensacola and three in the Tallahassee area. Additional cases extended beyond Florida, including six other states, one U.S. territory and 12 foreign countries.

Those numbers reveal the geographical scale of the operation.

But they do not tell the full story.

A missing-child investigation can begin for many reasons.

A child may run away.

A custody dispute may lead to a child being reported missing.

A child may be taken into circumstances involving abuse or exploitation.

A teenager may disappear because of a dangerous home environment.

And sometimes, investigators may discover circumstances that were not initially known.

That is why officials have emphasized that the 163 cases were not identical.

They have also pushed back against online claims suggesting all 163 children were kidnapped or trafficked.

The distinction is essential.

Human trafficking and kidnapping are serious crimes, but investigators cannot simply label every missing-child case as one of those crimes without evidence.

The same caution applies to the suspects whose mugshots have circulated online.

Michael Prescott, Jayden Harwood and Robert Allison have been identified in reporting about criminal cases connected to the operation. But fact-checkers determined that claims portraying them as a group responsible for abducting all 163 children are unsupported. The men were associated with separate cases involving individual victims.

Still, the confirmed criminal cases are serious.

Florida officials said the operation produced felony cases that are being handled by prosecutors. The Attorney General’s Office of Statewide Prosecution and other prosecutorial agencies are involved in cases resulting from the operation.

The fact that prosecutors are now involved means the operation may have consequences that extend well beyond the initial five-day search.

Investigators may continue gathering evidence.

Witnesses may be interviewed.

Digital records may be examined.

Additional suspects could potentially be identified.

But none of those possibilities should be presented as confirmed outcomes unless authorities announce them.

That is particularly important because misinformation has already become part of the story.

Fact-checkers recently examined viral videos claiming to show children being rescued during Operation Statewide Shield. Some footage was found to come from unrelated incidents, including older news events.

That means viewers should be extremely careful with dramatic videos circulating online.

A video can look convincing while having nothing to do with the Florida operation.

For families, misinformation can be especially painful.

Imagine seeing a video claiming that missing children have been found and wondering whether one of them could be your son or daughter.

Then discovering that the footage was from another incident.

That is why verified information matters.

The actual operation itself relied on real-time intelligence and field operations, according to Florida officials. Once children were located, those requiring additional assistance were transported to recovery hubs with access to medical providers, social services, child-welfare professionals and victim advocates.

This part of the operation may ultimately prove just as important as the recoveries themselves.

A child does not necessarily return to normal simply because they have been found.

The recovery process can involve trauma.

It can involve questions about family safety.

It can involve medical needs.

It can involve court decisions.

And it can involve criminal investigations.

That is why authorities have emphasized continued support for the children.

Then, on September 4, another development brought the operation into international focus.

The family of José Arthur Sousa Barros, a two-year-old Brazilian boy missing since March, reportedly asked Brazil’s Federal Police to investigate whether he could be among the children recovered during Operation Statewide Shield.

The family wants Brazilian and U.S. authorities to compare identifying information. Reports say methods such as facial recognition and fingerprints could be used.

But there is still no official confirmation that José Arthur is among the recovered children.

That uncertainty is important.

It is possible for a family to have legitimate reasons for asking authorities to investigate a possible connection without that connection ultimately being confirmed.

The same principle applies to every child recovered during Statewide Shield.

The public knows the number.

Authorities know more details about individual cases.

But many of those details cannot be released publicly because the children are minors and investigations may still be active.

That can be frustrating.

People want to know exactly what happened.

They want to know who was responsible.

They want to know whether additional arrests are coming.

And they want to know whether every child is now truly safe.

Those questions are understandable.

But answers must come from evidence.

As of September 5, the confirmed picture is this:

163 missing children were recovered.

The operation covered multiple Florida regions and international cases.

Many children had reportedly experienced abuse, neglect, exploitation or exposure to criminal activity.

Felony cases resulted from the operation.

The children who needed assistance were connected with support services.

And investigations remain ongoing.

The most difficult chapter may now be unfolding behind the scenes.

Because finding a missing child answers one question.

It does not necessarily answer why the child disappeared.

It does not necessarily identify everyone responsible.

And it does not necessarily reveal what happened before the child was found.

Those answers could take much longer.

For the 163 children and their families, however, one fact already matters more than every headline:

They were found.

Now the challenge is making sure they remain safe—and ensuring that any person who harmed or exploited them is held accountable through the justice system.