Authorities find Georgia girl missing for eight weeks in Dover; local man in custody
NEW PHILADELPHIA ‒ A 12-year-old Georgia girl who has been missing for eight weeks was found safe in Dover.
Antonio Agustin, 34, is being held in the Tuscarawas County Jail in connection with the girl's disappearance. Investigators with the Hall County Sheriff's Office Criminal Investigations in Gainesville, Ga., said they believe Agustin traveled to Gainesville and picked the girl up on May 29. That was the day she was last seen at her residence. Investigators said they traveled back to Agustin's house in Dover the same day.
Gainesville is in suburban Atlanta.
“We believe (the girl) had been communicating for a time with Mr. Agustin via Facebook Messenger and other online apps. (She) 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,” said Sheriff Gerald Couch in a Friday morning news conference. “That said, I want to be clear that (the girl) is the victim here. She is only 12 years old.”
The break in the case came last week when the girl contacted her father via Facebook Messenger, investigators said. She had created a new Facebook page so she could reach out to him. She told him she was OK and would not be coming home. He relayed that information to investigators.
Members of the Hall County Sheriff's Special Investigations Unit obtained the IP address of the Facebook page and were able to find the phone number associated with the account. They were able to track the phone to a residence in Dover. Believing the information was a credible lead to the girl's location, Hall County sent four investigators to Dover.
Tuscarawas County Sheriff Orvis Campbell said his agency was contacted about the situation on Wednesday and deputies started surveillance of Agustin's residence on Thursday.
The investigators were able to track the phone to the Dover City Park swimming pool where they made visual contact with the girl and Agustin on Thursday.
The two left in a vehicle, and got onto Interstate 77, Campbell said. Deputies followed the vehicle to the Walmart parking lot on Bluebell Drive in New Philadelphia, where Agustin was detained around 9 p.m. The girl was taken to the Noah's Hope Child Advocacy Center in New Philadelphia for assessment.
She was reported to be in good physical condition and is headed home to Georgia.
Campbell noted that Hall County authorities had been searching in multiple states for the girl.
The case remains under investigation. The Hall County Sheriff’s Office will bring charges against Agustin after consultation with the Hall County District Attorney’s Office.
This article originally appeared on The Times-Reporter: Police find missing Georgia girl in Dover; local man in custody
