Update published Friday, July 26 at 12:30 p.m.
Authorities now say the 12-year-old Gainesville girl who had been missing for nearly two months was found with a 34-year-old man in Ohio.
Hall County Sheriff Gerald Couch held a press conference Friday morning, roughly 12 hours after the sheriff's office had announced that Maria Gomez-Perez had been found safe.
"Maria was found (Thursday) in the company of...Antonio Agustin," Couch said. "He's a Guatemalan native and he had been living in northeastern Ohio. We believe Maria had been communicating for a time with Mr. Agustin via Facebook Messenger and some other online apps."
Couch said Gomez-Perez had been communicating online with several other adults and telling them that she was unhappy at home and wanted to leave. He said investigators believe Agustin drove to Gainesville from Ohio, picked up Gomez-Perez and took her back to his residence.
"The break in the case came last week, when Maria contacted her father via Facebook Messenger. She had created a new Facebook page so she could reach out to him to tell him that she was OK and that she was not coming home. She also asked him to stop looking for her," Couch said. "(Gomez-Perez's father) told our investigators about the message and members of our special investigations unit obtained the IP address of the Facebook page and were able to find the phone number associated with that account. They were able to track the phone to a residence back in Dover, Ohio."
Hall County investigators traveled to Dover during the week and tracked the phone to a city swimming pool where they saw Gomez-Perez and Agustin. They then followed the two to a nearby parking lot and recovered Gomez-Perez while arresting Agustin along with help from the Tuscarawas County, Ohio sheriff's office.
Agustin is in the Tuscarawas County Jail on charge of rape. Couch said he will also be facing charges in Hall County at the discretion of the District Attorney's Office.
"Let me be very clear about this, Maria is the victim in this case. Remember, she is 12 years old," Couch said.
Couch thanked the Gainesville community for their support during the search for Gomez-Perez and also cautioned the public to be wary of their children's online activity.
"The way the community responded here was tremendous and we're very thankful for that," Couch said. "It raises awareness of how we do need to protect our children and look out for them, especially with internet safety, I can't stress that enough."
Community members had pledged a total of $50,000 for a reward for information leading to Gomez-Perez's safe recovery. Couch said that money will not be collected since Gomez-Perez's communication was what ultimately led to her being found.
Couch had called the safe recovery of Gomez-Perez an answered prayer in a statement issued on social media late Thursday night. He reiterated those sentiments during Friday's press conference.
"We are a community that believes in prayer. I do," Couch said. "I think all the prayers and things that people did helped us in the situation, so I'm very grateful."
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Original story published Thursday, July 25 at 11:00 p.m.
Maria Gomez-Perez, a 12-year-old girl from Gainesville who had been missing since late May, has been found safe in another state according to Hall County officials.
The Hall County Sheriff's Office posted to social media Thursday night that Gomez-Perez was located by its Criminal Investigations Bureau.
"The tireless work of our CIB, law enforcement partners and the community has resulted in the best possible outcome," Hall County Sheriff Gerald Couch said in the post. "Our prayers for Maria's safe return have been answered."
Gomez-Perez had last been seen near her home on Westside Drive in Gainesville on May 29. Since that time, law enforcement and community leaders have worked to spread word of her disappearance, leading to a search that spanned several states as far away as Maryland.
The sheriff's office did not release any additional details about how Gomez-Perez was found, but said they are still working to determine the circumstances of her disappearance and to bring her safely back to Hall County.
