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Missing Person — Resolved

The Disappearance of Maria Gomez-Perez

● Found Safe Child Victim Georgia
Name
Maria Gomez-Perez
Age at Disappearance
12
Last Seen
May 29, 2024
Location
Gainesville, Georgia
Found
July 25, 2024 — Dover, Ohio
Days Missing
57
Suspect
Antonio Agustin-Ailon, 34
Case Status
Perpetrator Sentenced — Ohio
Maria Gomez-Perez | Age 12
Full NameMaria Gomez-Perez
Age12
Height5'3"
Weight100–110 lbs
EyesBrown
HairLong, Black
Last Seen WearingBright blue shirt
About Maria

Maria Gomez-Perez

Maria Gomez-Perez was 12 years old and living with her father, Andres Gomez, on Westside Drive in Gainesville, Georgia, a city in Hall County approximately 50 miles northeast of Atlanta. Her mother was believed to be living in Guatemala at the time of her disappearance.

Gainesville has a large and tight-knit Hispanic community, many of whom work in the city's poultry processing industry. When Maria went missing, that community mobilized immediately and with great determination, organizing search efforts, distributing thousands of flyers, and raising reward money alongside local businesses.

Maria's father, Andres, became a public face of the search. He spoke regularly to media and community members through translators, expressing his hope and his faith. The community's response to her disappearance drew national attention and became a demonstration of what collective effort looks like when a child goes missing.

01
Background

What We Know

Maria Gomez-Perez was last seen on the morning of May 29, 2024, in the driveway of her home on Westside Drive near Pearl Nix Parkway in Gainesville, Georgia. Her father reported her missing the following day, May 30. Investigators initially believed she had left on her own. Within two weeks, however, the Hall County Sheriff stated publicly that Maria was believed to be in danger and that she may have made contact with someone she had been communicating with prior to her disappearance.

Investigators determined that Maria had been communicating through Facebook Messenger and other online apps with multiple adult men, telling them she was unhappy at home and wanted to leave. One of those men was Antonio Agustin-Ailon, 34, a Guatemalan national living in Dover, Ohio. Evidence indicates Agustin-Ailon drove from Ohio to Gainesville on May 29 and picked Maria up from her home that day, then returned with her to his residence in Ohio, where she remained for nearly two months.

The Hall County Sheriff's Office, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, the FBI, Homeland Security, and the Guatemalan Consulate General in Atlanta all joined the search. Over 70 investigators were involved at the height of the effort. Searches were conducted across multiple states, including Alabama, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas, but all leads outside Ohio came up short.

Case Timeline

How It Unfolded

May 29, 2024
Maria Is Last Seen
Maria is last seen in the driveway of her home on Westside Drive around 10:00 a.m. Investigators later determine that Antonio Agustin-Ailon drove from Dover, Ohio to Gainesville that day and picked her up. The two traveled back to Ohio together.
May 30, 2024
Family Reports Maria Missing
Andres Gomez reports his daughter missing to the Hall County Sheriff's Office. Investigators initially note no evidence of foul play and believe Maria may have left voluntarily.
June 12, 2024
Reward Offered, Danger Acknowledged
A $30,000 reward is announced for information leading to Maria's safe return. Hall County Sheriff Gerald Couch publicly states investigators believe Maria is in danger and that she may have been in contact with an unknown person prior to disappearing. The GBI determines the case does not meet the criteria for a Levi's Call (equivalent to an Amber Alert). A BOLO is issued.
June – July 2024
Community Search and Multi-State Investigation
The Gainesville community organizes extensive search efforts, distributing thousands of flyers and unveiling a large banner on Jesse Jewell Parkway. The reward grows to $50,000. Investigators follow leads across seven states. Drone and K-9 searches are conducted, including at Lake Lanier. Over 70 investigators from multiple agencies are involved. All multi-state leads come up empty.
Week of July 15, 2024
Maria Contacts Her Father
Maria creates a new Facebook account and messages her father, saying she is safe and does not intend to come home. Her father relays the message to investigators. The Hall County Sheriff's Special Investigations Unit tracks the IP address of the Facebook message to a phone number and residence in Dover, Ohio, associated with Antonio Agustin-Ailon.
July 24–25, 2024
Maria Located — Agustin-Ailon Arrested
Four Hall County CIB investigators travel to Dover, Ohio. Working with the Tuscarawas County Sheriff's Office, they locate Maria and Agustin-Ailon at a city swimming pool. The two are followed to a Walmart parking lot in neighboring New Philadelphia, where Maria is recovered and Agustin-Ailon is taken into custody. Maria is examined by medical personnel and reported to be in good physical condition. She returns to Georgia the following day.
August 2024
Charges Filed in Ohio
A Tuscarawas County grand jury indicts Agustin-Ailon on six counts: interference with custody, rape (two counts), gross sexual imposition, and pandering sexually oriented material involving a minor (two counts). He is held without bail. Hall County authorities determine the most serious offenses occurred in Ohio and agree that Ohio will prosecute first, with Hall County charges, including kidnapping, to follow.
March 2025
Agustin-Ailon Pleads Guilty — Sentenced
Antonio Agustin-Ailon enters a negotiated guilty plea in Tuscarawas County, Ohio, on two counts of statutory rape, two counts of pandering involving a minor, and one count of gross sexual imposition. He is sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for 15 years. He begins serving his sentence in the Ohio prison system. Hall County charges, including kidnapping, remain pending, with the district attorney consulting with Maria's family on next steps.
02
Investigation

The Investigation

The initial weeks of the investigation produced no substantial leads. Investigators followed tips across seven states, conducted drone and K-9 searches in and around Gainesville, and searched Lake Lanier. The Hall County Sheriff's Office coordinated with the FBI, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, Homeland Security, and the Guatemalan Consulate General in Atlanta. None of the multi-state searches in the early weeks yielded results.

The break came through digital evidence. During the week of July 15, 2024, Maria contacted her father through a newly created Facebook account. She told him she was safe and asked him to stop searching. Her father relayed the message to investigators, who traced the IP address of the Facebook communication to a phone number connected to a residence in Dover, Ohio. That address was linked to Antonio Agustin-Ailon, 34, a Guatemalan national who had been living in Dover.

Four CIB investigators traveled to Ohio on July 24. Working with the Tuscarawas County Sheriff's Office, they tracked the phone to the Dover City Park swimming pool, where they made visual contact with both Maria and Agustin-Ailon. The two were followed to a nearby Walmart in New Philadelphia, where Maria was recovered and Agustin-Ailon was taken into custody. A search warrant executed at his residence confirmed that he and Maria had been living there together since May 29.

Hall County Sheriff Gerald Couch was direct at the press conference following her recovery: Maria was the victim. She was 12 years old. The case drew broader attention to the dangers of unsupervised online communication between children and adults, and prompted public discussion about why the disappearance did not qualify for a Levi's Call under Georgia criteria at the time.

03
The Accused

Antonio Agustin-Ailon

Antonio Agustin-Ailon
Age 34 — Dover, Ohio — Guatemalan National — Online Contact (No Prior Relationship)
Ohio Charges: 2 counts statutory rape, 2 counts pandering involving a minor, 1 count gross sexual imposition
Georgia Charges (Pending): Kidnapping — Hall County
Arrested: July 25, 2024 — Dover, Ohio
Plea: Guilty (Ohio, March 2025)
Sentence: Life in prison without possibility of parole for 15 years — Ohio prison system
Georgia Status: Hall County DA consulting with family on whether to pursue kidnapping charges
Key Evidence: IP address from Facebook message, phone tracking to Dover, Ohio, search warrant of residence, admissions during post-arrest interview
Immigration: ICE detainer placed
In Memoriam

She Is Not Forgotten

Maria Gomez-Perez was 12 years old when she was taken. She was a child, and the people who loved her treated her as one: her father who answered the Facebook message even when he wasn't sure it was real, the Gainesville community that put her face on every storefront and didn't stop after the first week, the investigators who traveled to Ohio and found her at a swimming pool.

Her case drew national attention not only for the community's response, but for the questions it raised about the Amber Alert criteria that excluded her, about how online predators target vulnerable children, and about what it takes for a missing child to be found when the system's thresholds aren't met.

Maria was found. She came home. The man responsible is in prison. And her case now stands as a record of how a community refused to wait and how a father never gave up.

Child Safety Resources
National Center for Missing & Exploited Children: 1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678) | cybertipline.org
FBI Safe Online Surfing: sos.fbi.gov — internet safety education for children
NetSmartz (NCMEC): netsmartz.org — resources for children, teens, and parents on online safety
Report Online Enticement: CyberTipline at cybertipline.org or call 1-800-843-5678
Sources
11Alive News (multiple reports, June–July 2024) | CBS Pittsburgh, July 2024 | Now Habersham (multiple reports, August 2024 – March 2025) | FOX 5 Atlanta | WSB-TV Atlanta, March 2025 | Hall County Sheriff's Office Press Releases | Tuscarawas County Sheriff's Office | AccessWDUN.com | North Gwinnett Voice
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