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

ATLANTA (AP) — A 12-year-old woman whose disappearance galvanized a Georgia group has been present in Ohio.

Corridor County Sheriff Gerald Sofa mentioned Friday that Maria Gomez-Perez was discovered Thursday in Dover, about 70 miles (110 kilometers) south of Cleveland, within the firm of a Guatemalan man who’s now jailed.

“I come to you with some very nice information,” Sofa advised reporters in a information convention. “Maria Gomez-Perez has been protected in Dover, Ohio, and she or he needs to be on her manner house right here to Gainesville with our investigators inside the hour.”

Gomez-Perez was final seen on the house of her father, Andres Gomez, on Might 29 in Gainesville, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) northeast of Atlanta. She was reported lacking a day later.

Her disappearance sparked an enormous search, with native authorities and companies providing a $50,000 reward. Volunteers canvassed the group searching for the woman and papered the world with posters, flyers and even billboards in search of the woman’s return.

Sofa mentioned investigators discovered Gomez-Perez had been speaking on-line with males, expressing unhappiness and saying she wished to depart house. He mentioned investigators imagine Antonio Augustin drove to Georgia, picked up Gomez-Perez, and drove her again to Augustin’s house in Dover. Whereas Sofa mentioned Augustin is 31 years outdated, Ohio jail information record him as 34.

“Let me be very clear on this: Maria is the sufferer on this case,” Sofa mentioned. “And bear in mind, she’s 12 years outdated.”

Sofa mentioned investigators started to house in on Gomez-Perez’s location when she contacted her father utilizing a brand new Fb account final week, telling her father that she was OK and never coming house, and asking her father to cease searching for her. Sofa mentioned investigators used that message to trace down the Fb web page’s web tackle, main them to a cellphone quantity related to a house in Dover.

4 sheriff’s investigators traveled to Ohio this week and noticed Gomez-Perez at a metropolis swimming pool. Tuscarawas County Sheriff’s Capt. Adam Fisher advised The Related Press that Augustin was arrested and Gomez-Perez was recovered after Augustin drove the 2 from the pool to a Walmart in neighboring New Philadelphia. Sofa mentioned Gomez-Perez was examined by medical personnel.

Fisher mentioned Augustin is being held on a Georgia cost of interference with custody, however Ohio officers might later search costs of rape and different crimes. Sofa mentioned Georgia authorities are prone to search extra felony costs towards Augustin.

Augustin had not but seen a choose as of Friday and no bail had been set, Fisher mentioned. Augustin doesn’t have an lawyer who might communicate for him, Fisher mentioned. An extradition listening to to Georgia is probably going subsequent week with Ohio officers planning to prosecute Augustin after authorized proceedings conclude in Georgia, Fisher added.

Fisher mentioned federal immigration officers have positioned a detainer on Augustin, indicating they might search to deport him, however Fisher mentioned he didn’t know Augustin’s immigration standing. Augustin’s solely earlier encounter with legislation enforcement in Tuscarawas County got here in 2021 when he was cited for driving with no license and with an open container of alcohol.

Officers in Georgia had confronted preliminary criticism within the seek for Gomez-Perez, partially as a result of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation concluded that her disappearance didn’t meet the standards for issuing an Amber Alert for lacking kids. Many residents within the Gainesville space are Hispanic, coming to the town to work in its poultry processing business, however most officers will not be of Hispanic descent, which might create divides.

“It’s arduous to place into phrases what we noticed. I simply actually, actually am pleased with our group,” Gainesville Mayor Sam Couvillon advised The Instances of Gainesville on Friday. “Our Hispanic group simply actually stood up and made their presence recognized and mentioned, ‘Hey look, let’s shine a light-weight on this lacking youngster.’”

Sofa concluded his remarks with a warning to folks to observe their kids’s on-line exercise.

“Know-how is a superb factor. It helped us find Maria. However expertise may also be used for evil. It’s why Maria was capable of depart Gainesville with a stranger and journey 9 hours away from house,” Sofa mentioned. “So please know what your kids are doing and who they’re speaking with. They’re our most weak and our Most worthy residents and it’s our responsibility to deal with them.”