A missing 12-year-old Georgia girl is found in Ohio after her community galvanized to locate her

Associated Press

ATLANTA (AP) — A 12-year-old girl whose disappearance galvanized a Georgia community has been found in Ohio.

Hall County Sheriff Gerald Couch said Friday that Maria Gomez-Perez was found Thursday in Dover, about 70 miles (110 kilometers) south of Cleveland, in the company of a Guatemalan man who is now jailed.

“I come to you with some very great news,” Couch told reporters in a news conference. “Maria Gomez-Perez has been safe in Dover, Ohio, and she should be on her way home here to Gainesville with our investigators within the hour.”

Gomez-Perez was last seen at the home of her father, Andres Gomez, on May 29 in Gainesville, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) northeast of Atlanta. She was reported missing a day later.

Her disappearance sparked a huge search, with local authorities and businesses offering a $50,000 reward. Volunteers canvassed the community looking for the girl and papered the area with posters, flyers and even billboards seeking the girl’s return.

Couch said investigators found Gomez-Perez had been communicating online with men, expressing unhappiness and saying she wanted to leave home. He said investigators believe Antonio Augustin drove to Georgia, picked up Gomez-Perez, and drove her back to Augustin’s home in Dover. While Couch said Augustin is 31 years old, Ohio jail records list him as 34.

“Let me be very clear on this: Maria is the victim in this case,” Couch said. “And remember, she’s 12 years old.”

Couch said investigators began to home in on Gomez-Perez’s location when she contacted her father using a new Facebook account last week, telling her father that she was OK and not coming home, and asking her father to stop looking for her. Couch said investigators used that message to track down the Facebook page’s internet address, leading them to a phone number associated with a home in Dover.

Four sheriff’s investigators traveled to Ohio this week and spotted Gomez-Perez at a city swimming pool. Tuscarawas County Sheriff’s Capt. Adam Fisher told The Associated Press that Augustin was arrested and Gomez-Perez was recovered after Augustin drove the two from the pool to a Walmart in neighboring New Philadelphia. Couch said Gomez-Perez was examined by medical personnel.

Fisher said Augustin is being held on a Georgia charge of interference with custody, but Ohio officials could later seek charges of rape and other crimes. Couch said Georgia authorities are likely to seek additional criminal charges against Augustin.

Augustin had not yet seen a judge as of Friday and no bail had been set, Fisher said. Augustin doesn’t have an attorney who could speak for him, Fisher said. An extradition hearing to Georgia is likely next week with Ohio officials planning to prosecute Augustin after legal proceedings conclude in Georgia, Fisher added.

Fisher said federal immigration officials have placed a detainer on Augustin, indicating they could seek to deport him, but Fisher said he didn’t know Augustin’s immigration status. Augustin’s only previous encounter with law enforcement in Tuscarawas County came in 2021 when he was cited for driving without a license and with an open container of alcohol.

Officials in Georgia had faced initial criticism in the search for Gomez-Perez, in part because the Georgia Bureau of Investigation concluded that her disappearance didn’t meet the criteria for issuing an Amber Alert for missing children. Many residents in the Gainesville area are Hispanic, coming to the city to work in its poultry processing industry, but most officials are not of Hispanic descent, which can create divides.

“It’s hard to put into words what we saw. I just really, really am proud of our community,” Gainesville Mayor Sam Couvillon told The Times of Gainesville on Friday. “Our Hispanic community just really stood up and made their presence known and said, ‘Hey look, let’s shine a light on this missing child.'”

Couch concluded his remarks with a warning to parents to watch their children’s online activity.

“Technology is a wonderful thing. It helped us locate Maria. But technology can also be used for evil. It’s why Maria was able to leave Gainesville with a stranger and travel nine hours away from home,” Couch said. “So please know what your children are doing and who they’re communicating with. They’re our most vulnerable and our most valuable citizens and it is our duty to take care of them.”