DOVER (WJER) (July 26, 2024) โ A 12-year-old Georgia girl missing for eight weeks was found at the Dover swimming pool Thursday with a 34-year-old man who connected with her online.
Hall County Georgia Sheriff Gerald Couch says Antonio Agustin of Dover drove to Gainesville, Ga., eight weeks ago, picked up the girl and brought her back to Ohio. He says Agustin will likely face several felony charges in both states.
Tuscarawas County Sheriff Orvis Campbellโs office aided in the investigation here. He says Agustin admitted to having a romantic relationship with the girl. Campbell says Agustin could end up spending most of the rest of his life in prison.
Couch says the break in the case came last week when the girl apparently contacted her father via Facebook messenger to tell him not to look for her. He emphasized that while the girl said she wanted to leave home, she is still the victim and only 12 years old.
Investigators from Georgia and the Tuscarawas County Sheriffโs Office tracked an IP address to a phone and eventually tracked that phone to Dover pool. They saw Augustin and the girl there, followed them to Walmart, arrested Augustin and recovered the girl safe in the parking lot.
Campbell says the girl is being returned to Georgia. Agustin is in the Tuscarawas County Jail. Campbell says they will eventually send him back to Georgia to face charges there. He says U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is also interested as Agustin is from Guatemala.
Hall County Sheriff Press Release
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Eight weeks after her disappearance from her Gainesville home, 12-year-old Maria Gomez-Perez was located safe in Dover, Ohio.
A male suspect, identified as Antonio Agustin, 34, is in custody in the Tuscarawas County Jail in connection with Mariaโs disappearance. Investigators with the Hall County Sheriffโs Office (HCSO) Criminal Investigations (CIB) believe Agustin traveled to Gainesville and picked up Maria on May 29, 2024, the day she was last seen at her residence on Westside Drive. The pair traveled back to Agustinโs home in Dover the same day.
โWe believe Maria had been communicating for a time with Mr. Agustin via Facebook Messenger and other online apps. Maria had indicated she was unhappy and wanted to leave home. We also know she had been communicating with other adult males online, telling them the same thing,โ said Sheriff Gerald Couch in a Friday morning news conference. โThat said, I want to be clear that Maria is the victim here. She is only 12-years-old.โ
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. She told him she was okay and would not be coming home. He relayed that information to CIB investigators.
Members of HCSOโs Special Investigations Unit (SIU) obtained the IP address of the Facebook page and were able to find the phone number associated with the account. They were able to track the phone to a residence in Dover. Believing the information was a credible lead to Mariaโs location, HCSO sent four CIB investigators to Dover. The investigators were able to track the phone to the Dover City Park swimming pool where they made visual contact with Maria and Mr. Agustin. When the two got into a vehicle and traveled to a nearby shopping center parking lot, they, along with members of the Tuscarawas County Sheriffโs Office followed. They recovered Maria at the scene and Mr. Agustin was arrested.
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Maria was taken to a local hospital for a wellness check. She was reported to be in good physical condition. Maria is traveling back to Georgia today.
The case remains under investigation. The Hall County Sheriffโs Office will bring charges against Mr. Agustin after consultation with the Hall County District Attorneyโs Office.
Sheriff Couch thanked the community for their ongoing support in HCSOโs search for Maria, and he also implored parents, grandparents and guardians to closely watch their childrenโs online activity.
โTechnology can be a wonderful thing. It helped us locate Mariaโ said Sheriff Couch. โBut, technology can also be used for evil. Itโs why Maria was able to leave Gainesville with a stranger and travel nine hours from her home. So, please, know what your children are doing and who theyโre communicating with. Theyโre our most vulnerable citizens, and we need to keep them safe.โ
