Kevin Branzetti is the Co-Founder & CEO of the National Child Protection Task Force. With 29 years of law enforcement expertise, including leading cyber-crime and terrorism investigations with the NYPD and Manhattan DA's Office, Kevin's leadership helps law enforcement advance child-focused cases with innovative, trauma-informed solutions.
In the spring of 2018, at the National Cyber Crime Conference, the seed of the National Child Protection Task Force was planted. I had just attended a presentation about a missing child who had been gone for two weeks—not because law enforcement wasn’t trying, but because the technology needed to find them was simply out of reach. Thankfully, that child was ultimately found. But sitting there, it was clear to me: we had to do better.
After the presentation, two of us sat down and had a conversation that would change everything. We talked about the gap between investigative needs and technological capabilities. We talked about people—experts in investigations, geolocation, open-source intelligence, and legal processes—who might be willing to help. And we imagined a way to bring them all together.
Over the next year, with many people’s thoughts, ideas, and dedication, that conversation became something real. A group of friends—some new, some longtime—came together and volunteered to respond whenever the call came in to help find missing, exploited, and trafficked children. The National Child Protection Task Force was born to fill the widening gap: law enforcement, regardless of size or location, simply couldn’t keep pace with the speed of technological change. NCPTF stepped into that void. We knew we couldn’t wait for permission to act. So we formed a working group and waited for the first call.
Then that first case came in — a teenage girl had gone missing, and all signs pointed to online exploitation. The local police department had leads but needed help, so we jumped in. A group of us got on a call and started working — pulling data, connecting dots, piecing together digital footprints. Hours passed.
Then came the call: “We got her.” She was alive.
That moment — that spark — lit the fire.
Since that day, dozens of people have joined the NCPTF. And for every new volunteer or team member, the first time they hear the words “We got him” or “We found her” — it changes them forever.
At the beginning, it was just a handful of us. No titles. No paychecks. Just a team ready to respond — any hour, any day. We became a rapid-response partner for law enforcement, stepping in when a child was missing or in danger — and time was critical. While agencies navigated heavy caseloads and limited resources, we brought extra hands, digital expertise, and a sense of urgency. One case led to a few more, and a few more turned into dozens — each solved through collaboration, commitment, and one guiding belief: no child should ever be invisible.
We also knew this: every day a child is missing, the danger grows. Exploitation. Assault. Addiction. Trafficking. Incarceration. Death. That’s the reality. That’s the cost of waiting. That’s why we never did.
And we didn’t just do the work — we shared it. If we tracked a burner phone or uncovered an alias account on Instagram, we didn’t keep it to ourselves. We taught the investigators how we did it — equipping them to do it the next time.
In 2019, we took the leap and formally became a nonprofit. None of us had run an organization before, but we knew how to follow a lead. Our team brought together expertise in criminal investigations, OSINT, mobile forensics, legal processes, and emerging tech — and when we didn’t have what a case needed, we went out and found it.
As our volunteer network grew, a few remarkable individuals didn’t just join the mission — they invested in it. They believed in what we were capable of building for vulnerable kids and became our first major funders, making it possible for a few of us to take this work on professionally, full-time. Our capacity grew with them, and so did our impact.
Building a Mission-Driven Team
Over the next few years, we built something rare: a team of professionals united by mission, not title. Some joined from law enforcement. Others from the private sector. Several started as volunteers. A few were survivor leaders — individuals who turned their own experiences into fuel for change. One by one, they stepped up.
We taught at conferences from Arkansas to Australia, Boston to Brazil — training law enforcement at all levels — and launched our own conference to bring forward new methods for locating and protecting missing and exploited children.
But we also listened — to survivors, to frontline officers, and to communities. And that shaped our evolution. One case turned into hundreds each year. And through that work, we learned something critical: In the U.S., most sex-trafficked and exploited children started out as runaways.
That was a wake-up call. If we could find and support a child the first time they ran, maybe — just maybe — we could prevent their exploitation altogether.
Our North Star became this: Every time a child runs away, it’s a cry for help — and as adults, it’s our job to answer that call.
The Shift in 2024
In 2024, our mission grew. We realized that finding a missing child was only the beginning. Too often, the same child would go missing again weeks later — a cycle we couldn’t ignore.
So we started asking deeper questions: Why did this child run? What were they running from — or to? What support is missing in their life?
That’s when we launched Missing Child Rescue Operations — immersive, week-long missions where we join local agencies on the ground, tracking, locating, and helping missing kids in real time.
We partnered with local, state, and federal law enforcement, child protection professionals, and service providers. In Buffalo, we located 47 children in three days. In Albany, it was 71. But more importantly, every child was offered trauma-informed care, a pathway to healing, and a chance to be seen beyond their missing person report.
These operations are built on one guiding principle: Find. Listen. Help.
Where We’re Headed
Today, we’re a small nonprofit with a national impact. We don’t receive federal funding. We don’t have a massive budget. But we do have a team of some of the brightest minds in investigations — and a belief that every child deserves to be found, supported, and surrounded by people who never stop showing up.
We’re expanding Missing Child Rescue Operations across the country. We’re growing the resources we offer to survivors and the communities that care for them. And we’re building a legacy where volunteers become leaders, survivors shape solutions, and no child is out of reach.
If you're wondering where you fit into this fight — you already do. Join us.
We're getting ready to launch our next Missing Child Rescue Operation in less than 30 days. Right now, thanks to a generous gift from The Jensen Project, every dollar donated will be matched up to $75,000.
There's no better time to join us on this important mission–Get involved today.
