The King County Sheriff's Office Child Find Unit specializes in custodial interference and parental kidnapping incidents. Custodial interference means that a parent has taken a child with the intention of keeping the child from the other parent.

State laws have focused the public's attention on law enforcement to assist when a custody violation occurs. In the mid-1980s, the King County Sheriff's Office pioneered a revised Writ of Habeas Corpus, adding search and arrest language that would help in the safe recovery of children. Additionally, Child Find detectives act upon writs issued by the Superior Court to locate and present the affected child or children for custodial hearings.