The Hall County Sheriff’s Office in Georgia issued a new photo Thursday of a missing 12-year-old girl who hasn’t been seen in nearly a week.
HCSO posted on Facebook that a team of over two dozen local, state, and federal investigators is “dedicated to the safe return” of Maria Gomez-Perez, who was last seen at her home on Westside Drive in Hall County at around 10 a.m. on May 29, as CrimeOnline previously reported.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, Maria is described as 5 feet, 3 inches tall about 100 to 110 pounds with long black hair and brown eyes, according to the Hall County Sheriffโs Office. She was was believed to be wearing a bright blue shirt when she vanished.
“Many people have taken an active role in the search for Maria, and we are thankful for the support of the community as we work to bring Maria home,” HCSO said. “That said, we want to ๐บ๐ฎ๐ธ๐ฒ ๐๐๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ ๐ถ๐ป๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ๐บ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ถ๐ ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฑ.”
Investigators said over the weekend that there is โno indication of abduction or foul play at this time” and “no evidence indicating Maria was taken against her will.”
In a Monday statement, the sheriffโs office said that the Georgia Bureau of Investigation denied a request for a Leviโs Call because the disappearance did not meet all of the requirements.
“In answer to a frequently asked question about the case, HCSO investigators did indeed reach out to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) to request a Levi’s Call, Georgiaโs version of the Amber Alert,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement to FOX 5 Atlanta.
“After a review of the facts of the case with GBI officials, the GBI determined that Mariaโs case did not meet three out of five activation criteria:
- Law enforcement officials have a reasonable belief that an abduction has occurred.
- Law enforcement officials believe that the child is in imminent danger of serious bodily injury or death.
- Enough descriptive information exists about the victim and the abductor for law enforcement to issue aย Levi’s Call.
“When Leviโs Call requests are denied, the GBI routinely offers and provides a Media Advisory. The GBI disseminated a Media Advisory on behalf of HCSO and Maria to metro and north Georgia broadcast partners over the weekend, with contact information for new information and tips.
Anyone with information on her whereabouts is urged to contact the Special Investigations Unit (SIU) at 770-503-3232 or send an email to intelrequest@hallcounty.org.
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[Feature Photo via HCSO]