Missing 12-year-old Hall County girl found in Ohio with man she met online

Hall County Sheriff Gerald Couch is sharing new details in the missing person case of 12-year-old Maria Gomez-Perez.

She vanished from her Gainesville home in May. The sheriff’s office said late Thursday night that “Maria is safe and OK,” and that she was located “in another state.”

Sheriff Couch confirmed on Friday morning that she had been found in Dover, Ohio with a 34-year-old man she met online.

[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks ]

He says Maria met Antonio Agustin, a Guatemalan native, online and began chatting with him and other adult men through Facebook Messenger. She told Agustin that she was unhappy and wanted to leave home.

On May 29, Agustin drove from his Ohio home to Gainesville to pick Maria up and take her back to northeast Ohio, where investigators believe they have been since.

RELATED STORIES:

• Father of missing Gainesville girl: ‘My heart is broken in two’
• GDOT won’t allow supporters to hang banner featuring missing Hall County 12-year-old above highway
• Reward jumps to $50,000 for safe return of 12-year-old girl who vanished from Hall County home
• Sheriff says 12-year-old girl who vanished from Hall County home considered ‘missing and endangered’

Agustin has since been arrested and is being held in the Tuscarawas County Jail.

A $50,000 reward had been offered for any information that could lead to finding Maria.

[SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter ]