Maria Gomez-Perez's father: 'Trust God that he will bring my daughter back'
HALL COUNTY, Ga. - Five weeks after a 12-year-old girl went missing in Hall County, community members unveiled a banner in the downtown Gainesville area. Maria Gomez-Perez hasn't been seen since the end of May.
"My hope is that she will return or that she will be returned," Maria's father, Andres Gomez Alonso, said.
Andres Gomez Alonso looked on as a sign bearing his daughter's face was unveiled along Jessee Jewell Parkway in Gainesville on Friday.
Speaking through translator Art Gallegos he said he's still hopeful Maria will be found.
"I trust God that he will bring my daughter back. If he allows that my daugther is still alive I trust in him that she will come home, and he will bring her home," he said.
Maria was last seen at her home on Westside Drive in Gainesville on May 29. The Hall County Sheriff's Office has followed leads in South Carolina, Tennessee, Florida, Alabama, Texas, Illinois and Maryland, but they all came up short. The FBI, GBI, Homeland Security, and South Carolina Law Enforcement Division have assisted in the search.
COVERAGE OF MARIA GOMEZ-PEREZ'S DISAPPEARANCE:
- Maria Gomez-Perez disappearance: No new leads as search enters second month
- Missing Hall County girl: Reward increased to $50K for 12-year-old
- Search continues for missing 12-year-old Hall County girl
- Reward increased to $30K in search for missing 12-year-old Hall County girl
- Hall County sheriff describes efforts to find missing Gainesville 12-year-old
"Being a member of this community and being Hispanic, obviously, I have a lot of love and concern for a 12-year-old girl that's missing," Stefan Javiarre Lebron Jr. said.
Lebron is the community member who donated the new banner. He's working with the DOT to get another hung behind the pedestrian bridge near the current sign.
Andres Gomez Alonso, father of 12-year-old Maria Gomez-Perez.
"This is a constant image of her that's going to be viewed by thousands of people every day, and it only takes the right person to see her," he explained.
As the search continues, the Hall County Sheriff's Office also encouraged residents not to search for Maria on their own, saying it's not safe, and to share any tips directly with law enforcement.
The reward for Maria's safe return remains at $50,000. The Hall County Sheriff's Office asks for tips to be sent to the Criminal Investigations Bureau (CIB) at 770-503-3232 or intelrequest@hallcounty.org. You can also call 911 or Hall County Dispatch/Central Communications at 770-536-8812.