Missing 12-year-old girl found nearly 10 hours away from home with older man she met online

GAINESVILLE, Ga. (WANF/Gray News) - A Georgia girl who went missing for nearly two months in a high-profile case has been found with a 34-year-old man in Ohio.

Hall County Sheriff Gerald Couch identified the man as Antonio Agustin. He was arrested and is currently being held in a Tuscarawas County jail in Ohio.

The 34-year-old is scheduled to be extradited back to Georgia.

Authorities said the child, whose name is no longer being reported to protect her identity, had been communicating with Agustin on Facebook Messenger for some time.

Couch said the young girl was also messaging other adult men about her being unhappy at home and wanting to leave.

Deputies said they believe Agustin drove to Gainesville and picked her up at her house on May 29.

Despite widespread public awareness, the girl’s location was unknown until last Friday when she reached out to her father on Facebook.

The girl said she was OK but wasn’t coming home. That’s when investigators obtained the Facebook page’s IP address, found a phone number associated with it, and tracked that device to a home in Dover, Ohio.

The sheriff’s office sent four investigators to the Dover area who tracked the phone to a public swimming pool, where Agustin and the girl were seen.

Law enforcement followed the two to a shopping center before recovering the girl and arresting Agustin.

Couch urged the importance of keeping an eye on your children’s internet activity.

“Technology is a wonderful thing. It helped us locate [her],” he said. “But technology can also be used for evil. It’s why [she] was able to leave Gainesville with a stranger and travel more than nine hours away from home.”

Authorities previously offered a $50,000 reward for information about her whereabouts — but Couch said the money had been pledged, not donated, so no reimbursements were necessary.

In the wake of her disappearance, the community banded together to spread the word. Groups held prayer meetings for her safe return, handed out flyers and posted signs all over the county.

“Our community has been constant with their support, and I appreciate all that has been done in the last two months,” Couch said.

Couch did not immediately share what charges Agustin is facing while the investigation into the case remains ongoing.

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