Missing 12-year-old found eight weeks after man she met online picked her up
Kit Roberts
Featured Image Credit: Hall County Sheriff's Office
A 12-year-old girl who went missing has been found eight weeks after her initial disappearance.
Maria Gomez-Perez was found safe some 600 miles away from her home after officers conducted a search.
The 12-year-old was found with a man that she had reportedly met online and who had come to pick her up.
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Officers arrested the man when they found the pair and are now considering charges in relation to the incident.
Police said that they had reason to believe that Maria and the man, named as Antonio Agustin, 31, had been communicating online.
This allegedly included Maria indicating that she wanted to leave home due to being unhappy.
Police have also confirmed that they are treating Maria as a victim in the case.
Maria was last seen at the home of her father Andres Gomez in Gainesville on May 29.
Hall County Sheriff Gerald Couch said in a statement: "We believe Maria had been communicating for a time with Mr. Augustin 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.
"Let me be very clear on this: Maria is the victim in this case. And remember, she's 12 years old."
Officers made headway after Maria messaged her father on Facebook telling him that she was okay and to stop looking for her.
Investigators were able to use that message to locate the device that it was sent from via the IP address, which led them to Maria.
Four investigators spotted her at a city swimming pool after travelling to Ohio.
A police statement said: "Maria Gomez-Perez has been safe in Dover, Ohio, and she should be on her way home here to Gainesville with our investigators within the hour."
Gainesville Mayor Sam Couvillon told The Times of Gainesville: "It's hard to put into words what we saw. I just really, really am proud of our community.
"Our Hispanic community just really stood up and made their presence known and said, 'Hey look, let's shine a light on this missing child.'"
Couch also warned about the dangers of technology, saying: "Technology is a wonderful thing. It helped us locate Maria. But technology can also be used for evil.
"It's why Maria was able to leave Gainesville with a stranger and travel nine hours away from home.
"So please know what your children are doing and who they're communicating with. They're our most vulnerable and our most valuable citizens and it is our duty to take care of them."