The search for missing 12-year-old Maria Gomez-Perez continues as the Hall County Sheriff's Office has raised the reward to $50,000 for information leading to her safe return. According to a report by FOX 5 Atlanta, Maria was last seen on May 29, 2024 at her home on Westside Drive in Gainesville, with the authorities actively looking for her in conjunction with multiple agencies and the community.
The increased reward, funded by anonymous business and community members, is an attempt to encourage individuals to come forward with any useful information. As elaborated in a statement obtained by 11Alive, Sheriff Gerald Couch said, "The concerned citizens providing this reward want what we want – for Maria to return home safe." He has also expressed that "someone in the community has that single clue or one piece of information that could lead to finding Maria," according to FOX 5 Atlanta.
Maria has been described as standing 5-foot 3-inches tall with brown eyes and long black hair. She was believed to be wearing a bright blue shirt at the time of her disappearance. Despite the efforts made in searching and the analysis of multiple leads, none have so far resulted in locating her.
In a heart-wrenching plea initially reported by 11Alive, Maria's father, Andres, begged his daughter to return home, saying in Spanish, "Por favor, vuelve a casa. Te estamos esperando. Yo no puedo vivir sin ti lastimosamente," translating to "Please, come home. We are waiting for you. I unfortunately cannot live without you."
The local community has been quick to support the efforts with cybersecurity engineer Sergio Franco stepping in to assist. Feeling a personal connection to the case, Franco told FOX 5 Atlanta, "Whenever a child goes missing, it hurts everybody." He has launched a dedicated website, HelpFindMaria.com, to aggregate the latest news and provide a platform for tip submission. The sheriff's office urges that while these community-led initiatives are appreciated, investigations should be left to professionals for safety reasons, and any information related to Maria's disappearance should be reported to 770-503-3232 or [email protected]. Tips can also be directed to 911 or Hall County 911/Central Communications at 770-536-8812.
