A Georgia lady who vanished two months in the past was lastly discovered greater than 600 miles from house this week with an grownup man she supposedly met on-line.
Maria Gomez-Perez, 12, was recovered safely in Dover, Ohio, on Thursday — eight weeks after she was final seen at her household’s house in Gainesville, Ga., on Might 29, Corridor County Sheriff Gerald Sofa stated throughout a press convention Friday morning.
Gomez-Perez was tracked to Ohio when she used a brand new Fb account to message her father final week, saying that she was nice and wished him to cease on the lookout for her.
Investigators traced the IP tackle of the account that despatched the messages to an tackle in Dover, the place 4 investigators traveled and made visible contact with Gomez-Perez and Antonio Agustin, 34, at a neighborhood pool on Thursday.
The brokers from Georgia and officers with the native Tuscarawas County Sheriff’s Workplace adopted the pair to a close-by purchasing heart car parking zone, the place Agustin was arrested, Sofa stated.
Gomez-Perez was taken to a hospital for a wellness examine and was en route again to Georgia on Friday morning.
“The protected restoration of Maria is nice information,” Sheriff Sofa informed reporters.
Gomez-Perez was final seen at her household’s Gainesville house on Might 29. Investigators now consider that Agustin traveled from Ohio to Georgia, the place he picked the younger lady up and drove her again up north.
“We consider Maria had been speaking for a time with Mr. Augustin by way of Fb Messenger and different on-line apps,” Sofa stated.
“Maria had indicated she was sad and wished to depart house. We additionally know she had been speaking with different grownup males on-line, telling them the identical factor,” he famous, including that the lady “is the sufferer right here — she is just 12 years previous.”
Agustin, who’s initially from Guatemala, was held on the Tuscarawas County Jail. He’s anticipated to face expenses in each Georgia and Ohio, Sofa famous.
“The final eight weeks have been grueling for these on our investigative group,” the sheriff stated. “I need to thank them for his or her dedication and for placing their hearts and souls into bringing Maria again to our group.”
Norma Hernandez, a neighborhood enterprise chief who organized some efforts to search out Gomez-Perez, informed the Gainesville Instances that the lady’s father, Andres Gomez, was excited for his daughter to return house.
“I’m so glad this nightmare is over,” Hernandez stated. “They did job. It simply took longer than anticipated, however we’re excited.”
Gomez-Perez was born in Huehuetenango, Guatemala, and moved to the US along with her dad when she was 6, the outlet reported.
Her mom stayed in Guatemala.
“There’s not a approach to feed your loved ones. We didn’t have a house, we didn’t have property, we didn’t have work,” Andres Gomez informed the paper final month about their life of their house nation.
On the time of her disappearance, Gomez-Perez was a fifth grader at Lyman Corridor Elementary.
“I’m nonetheless in shock. I can’t cease smiling,” Lyman Corridor Elementary Principal Angel Rodriguez stated Friday of the information that little Maria was coming house protected.
Gainesville Mayor Sam Couvillon praised the local people for coming collectively to assist maintain Maria’s case within the public consciousness.
“It’s laborious to place into phrases what we noticed. I simply actually, actually am pleased with our group,” he stated. “Our Hispanic group simply actually stood up and made their presence recognized and stated, ‘Hey look, let’s shine a light-weight on this lacking youngster.’”
The Division of Youngster and Household Companies will decide one of the best housing state of affairs for Gomez-Perez going ahead, Sheriff Sofa stated.
He implored adults to maintain observe of what the youngsters of their lives are getting as much as on-line.
“Expertise is usually a fantastic factor. It helped us find Maria,” he stated.
“However expertise can be used for evil. It’s why Maria was in a position to depart Gainesville with a stranger and journey 9 hours from her house,” Sofa continued.
“So, please, know what your kids are doing and who they’re speaking with. They’re our most susceptible residents, and we have to maintain them protected.”
Gomez-Perez was discovered the identical week Penelope “Penny” Sensible, 17, was discovered dwelling with a 44-year-old man who claimed to be her fiancé — two months after she reportedly ran away from her household’s house in Michigan.
Sensible was noticed by an eagle-eyed neighbor when she left the person’s house for a motorbike experience on Sunday.
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