Missing 12-year-old from Georgia found living with 34-year-old man in Ohio, cops say
A 12-year-old girl who disappeared from her Georgia home two months ago was found living in Ohio with a man she met online, authorities said.
The 34-year-old man is accused of driving to Gainesville, Georgia, to pick up the girl and bringing her back to his home in Dover, Ohio, more than 600 miles away, according to the Hall County Sheriff’s Office.
The man was arrested and is being held in the Tuscarawas County jail. McClatchy News isn’t naming the suspect because he hasn’t been charged as of July 26.
‘Extremely concerned’
Detectives said the 12-year-old met the Ohio man when she began messaging men online, saying she wasn’t happy and wanted to leave home.
“That being said, let me be very clear that (the girl) is the victim,” Hall County Sheriff Gerald Couch said during a news conference. “She is 12 years old.”
The girl vanished from home the morning of May 29, sparking a wide-scale, eight-week search spanning at least eight states and gripping the local community, officials said.
The sheriff’s office said it was aware that the community was very worried about the girl’s well-being. A business owner donated $10,000 as a reward for the girl’s safe return before the reward was later upped to $50,000, and deputies said they were also “extremely concerned” about the girl’s safety.
About a week before the July 25 rescue, deputies said the girl created a Facebook account to reach out to her father on Facebook. She said she was fine but wouldn’t be coming home, and she asked for people to stop looking for her, according to the sheriff.
The father told investigators about the message, and they were able to locate an IP address and a phone number associated with the account, deputies said. They tracked the phone’s location to Dover, Ohio, and the sheriff’s office dispatched four investigators to the area, according to deputies.
When investigators arrived, they further tracked the phone to the Dover City Park swimming pool, where they said they saw the missing girl and the suspect. The two then drove to a nearby shopping center, where the man was arrested.
Charges expected
The 12-year-old was physically healthy and would be brought back to Georgia, officials said.
The man could face felony charges in both Georgia and Ohio, but Georgia officials are consulting the district attorney’s office to decide what charges he will face.
Couch said technology helped them track down the missing girl, but at the same time, it enabled her “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,” Couch said. “They’re our most vulnerable and our most valuable citizens, and it’s our duty to take care of them.”
This story was originally published July 26, 2024 at 1:30 PM with the headline "Missing 12-year-old from Georgia found living with 34-year-old man in Ohio, cops say."