NCPTF Attendees Find Missing Girl

July 17, 2023

By Johnmichael O’Hare, Director of Business Development, PenLink

There are an estimated 27.6 million victims of human trafficking worldwide at any given time, according to the U.S. Department of State. During the most recent National Child Protection Task Force (NCPTF) conference, that number decreased by one.

NCPTF’s annual conference strives “to enhance law enforcement’s ability to identify, locate, and track child predators.” When a call came in from an investigator during the event needing help in locating a 15-year-old girl being trafficked, that goal came into play in real time. The law enforcement attendees at the event rallied to leverage the capabilities they had onsite – including open-source intelligence (OSINT) – with their investigative expertise to find the missing girl and get her to safety…in just two hours.

“All we had was the first name,” said Kevin Branzetti, president of the National Child Protection Task Force in a recent article. “We had her first name, age. That’s not a lot of data points to start with, but when you have a team like this, incredible things can happen.”

The Power of OSINT for Good

Incredible things can happen when using leading-edge technologies, such as OSINT, for good. That’s why PenLink was an active participant at the NCPTF event and in collaborating to help solve the missing girl case. It’s also why we announced our partnership with NCPTF in June to protect children against human trafficking.

As a global leader in Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered OSINT, PenLink works to protect global communities and organizations from crime, threats, and cyber-attacks. By providing access to our web intelligence platform, PenLink is offering NCPTF invaluable resources, intelligence, and guidance in their pursuit to find missing and exploited children online.

PenLink’s web investigation platform is a powerful OSINT solution that searches online activity, collecting and analyzing data from endless digital channels – from the open, deep, and dark web. It provides a complete picture of complex illicit ecosystems used for human trafficking purposes. Together, PenLink and NCPTF will be able to harness this AI to create a safer world for children.

Johnmichael O’Hare, Director, Business Development, PenLink

Lieutenant Johnmichael O’Hare retired from the Hartford Police (CT) in 2018. His career elevated investigative units that specifically attacked narcotics and firearms violence. In 2013, he was tasked with creating a Real-Time Intelligence Center that could support critical functions & provide analytical and forensic back support. He currently serves as a Director of Business Development at PenLink with a focus on Threat Network Identification & Interdiction in the Web Intelligence Realm.