The FBI and local law enforcement agencies found 11 child victims of sex trafficking and 27 missing or endangered children in an operation this month, the agency announced Tuesday. The operation also found 11 adult victims.

John Kellner, Colorado’s 18th Judicial District attorney, said that the child trafficking victims found in the operation averaged 13 years old.

“Six boys, five girls that should have been in seventh grade instead are victims of commercial sex exploitation. That is why operations like this matter,” he said.

The Denver-area effort was part of a national initiative known as Operation Cross Country. Between Aug. 4 and Aug. 6, the local operation focused on finding victims, getting them to safe places and providing them services, said Michael Schneider, FBI Denver’s special agent in charge. Agents spent time leading up to those three days gathering intelligence to find the victims.

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Schneider said the operation included cooperation from dozens of metro-area law enforcement agencies. Colorado’s child exploitation and human trafficking task force includes members of the Denver Police Department, the Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office, the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, the Colorado State Patrol and the 17th Judicial District Attorney’s Office.

The operation identified six suspected traffickers and led to the arrest of two of them on unrelated felony warrants. But law enforcement agents otherwise gave sparse details on the suspected traffickers, saying investigations are ongoing and that the operation focused on victims.

Among the victims found were a teenager who needed a dose of Narcan, the opioid overdose reversal medicine, and a 3-month-old baby. Law enforcement said drug addiction plays a key role in sex trafficking.

“The connection between the commercial sex exploitation of these kids and drug abuse cannot be overstated,” Kellner said.

“This is truly an interconnected issue, and one we need to look at holistically we ever want to truly tackle this problem.”

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Jenelle Goodrich, executive director of the victim services organization From Silenced to Saved, said gaining trust of people who have been victimized takes persistence and patience, and they might not always be ready to leave their traffickers or accept services. She said victims often form a bond with those exploiting them, believing their traffickers  care for them.

Breaking through that mindset takes “showing them what healthy relationships and unconditional love is, and then continue to show up without expecting anything in return,” she said.

However, Goodrich clarified that underage victims are not left with their traffickers when they are found.

Arapahoe County Sheriff Tyler Brown asked families to stay involved in their kids’ lives, saying traffickers will target anyone they believe they can victimize and use tactics such as exploiting social media to lure children or target those from vulnerable backgrounds.

“Anybody that they can victimize to continue their criminal enterprise, they’re going to take advantage of,” he said.