GAINESVILLE, Ga. — The Hall County Sheriff's Office announced that the reward has been increased to $30,000 for the safe return of Maria Gomez-Perez, a missing 12-year-old girl from Gainesville.
Deputies said an anonymous businessperson contributed $10,000 more dollars to the previously announced $20,000 reward.
“As investigators with the Hall County Sheriff’s Office and other law enforcement agencies push forward in efforts to locate Maria, I am again thankful for another outpouring of support with the extra reward funding,” Sheriff Gerald Couch said in a release. “Someone in the community has that single clue or piece of information that could lead to Maria. I pray this increased reward is encouragement for them to come forward.”
Authorities said Gomez-Perez was last seen at her home on Westside Drive on May 29 and was reported missing the next day. She is described as standing 5-foot 3-inches tall and weighing between 100 and 110 pounds. She has brown eyes and long black hair and is thought to have been wearing a bright blue shirt when she was last seen.
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HCSO and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation are continuing to search for Gomez-Perez and are seeking any information regarding her whereabouts.
“Our investigators and investigative partners are following every lead they get, but so far, none of those leads have led us to Maria. The concerned citizens providing this reward want what we want – for Maria to return home safe," Sherriff Couch previously said.
Anyone with information regarding Gomez-Perez’s disappearance should contact HCSO’s Special Investigations Unit at 770-503-3232 or intelrequest@hallcounty.org. Tips can also be phoned into 911 or Hall County Dispatch at 770-536-8812.