A 12-year-old girl from Georgia who went missing was found in Ohio with a 34-year-old man whom she met online. The authorities were able to locate her after she reportedly asked her father to stop searching for her as she had no plans of returning home. The search for the missing girl lasted for several days, but thankfully she was found safe and sound. It is important to educate children on the dangers of online interactions and to monitor their internet activities to ensure their safety.
Several news sources reported that Maria Gomez-Perez, a 12-year-old girl from Gainesville, Georgia, was last spotted on May 29 in the driveway of her residence. She was discovered two months later on July 25 in Ohio, accompanied by a man named Antonio Agustin-Ailon, who hails from Guatemala. (It’s worth noting that while police initially stated that Agustin was 34 years old, they later indicated during a press conference on July 26 that he was 31. Jail records in Ohio indicate that he is 34.)
Sheriff Gerald Couch of Hall County announced during a press briefing that the Georgia girl who had been missing for almost two months has been found “safe and OK” in another state. The Sheriff also shared that before her disappearance, Gomez-Perez had been communicating with Agustin online. The authorities believe that the child had been using Facebook and other online apps to communicate with the man.
According to Sheriff Couch, Maria had expressed her dissatisfaction and desire to leave home. Additionally, she had been communicating with other adult males online and shared the same information with them. It is important to note that Maria is the victim in this situation, and it is crucial to remember that she is only 12 years old. Sheriff Couch emphasized the importance of this fact, stating, “Let me be very clear on this – Maria is the victim here.”
During the press conference, the police kept mum about the charges against the man. However, they did mention that he will likely face multiple felony charges in Georgia and Ohio. This is due to the fact that he transported a child across state lines. Currently, as of Friday afternoon (July 23), the man is in custody in Tuscarawas County, Ohio.
According to the investigation, Agustin is suspected of driving all the way from his Ohio home to Gainesville, GA to pick up the child on May 29. Further probe suggests that Agustin had the child with him at his home during the entire time she was missing.
In the case of the missing child, law enforcement officials received a breakthrough when she supposedly messaged her father, Andres Gomez, who had last seen her at home on May 29th, on Facebook and requested him to stop searching for her. Sheriff Couch divulged that the child had created a new Facebook account to exclusively message her father. During their conversation, the child assured her father that she was fine and had no intentions of returning home.
After being alerted by the father, the authorities were able to locate the child by tracing the IP address to a Dover, Ohio location, which is about 70 miles south of Cleveland. Upon arrival, they discovered the 34-year-old man with the 12-year-old girl at a nearby swimming pool. The Hall County Sheriff’s Department, in conjunction with the Tuscarawas County Sheriff’s Office, apprehended Agustin in a shopping center parking lot and safely rescued the child.
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