Father of missing Hall County child pleads for safe return

GAINESVILLE, Ga. — As the search for a missing 12-year-old girl intensifies, so does her father's desperation.

The Hall County Sheriff's Office said Maria Gomez-Perez was last seen at her home on Westside Drive near Pearl Nix Parkway around 10 a.m. on Wednesday, May 29. It has been a week since her family has had any communication with her. Gomez-Perez is described as 5 feet 3 inches tall and weighing between 100 and 110 pounds. She has brown eyes and long black hair and is believed to have been wearing a bright blue shirt when last seen.

RELATED: Dozens of investigators working urgently to find missing 12-year-old girl in Hall County

Her father spoke to 11Alive in Spanish at his home Wednesday night, saying he just wanted his daughter to come home.

“Por favor, vuelve a casa. Te estamos esperando. Yo no puedo vivir sin ti lastimosamente,” Andres said.

Pleading for his daughter to come home, he was overcome with emotion. In his message to his daughter, he said he could not live without her.

Signs and flyers with his photo can be found on almost every corner of Gainesville. Many were distributed by Ambitions Car Club and hundreds in the community. They help make the 12-year-old's search easier, and as the days go by, it becomes personal.

“Originally we thought we were going to come here and hand out flyers. We should knock on doors, let's talk to people, let's see if anyone knows her, where she might be,” Jesse Perez, vice president of the club, said.

As Hall County Sheriff's deputies continue their search, they say they are extremely concerned for Maria's well-being and need information from the community. As the work to find her grows, the message from Dad and the hundreds of people searching for her is the same: They miss her, need to hear from her and want that 12-year-old's home.

“Your family misses you; your dad wants to see you. If there's a way to contact someone, don't be afraid to make it happen; every minute counts,” Perez said.

The community is concerned that nothing is being done to find Maria. The sheriff's office responded to these concerns by saying they are doing everything they can and are searching around the clock.

Deputies requested a Levi's Call, Georgia's version of an Amber Alert, but this was denied by the GBI because Maria's case did not meet three of the five criteria needed to issue an alert.

Anyone with information on the whereabouts of Gomez-Perez is asked to call authorities at 911 or 770-536-8812.

We'll bring you the latest information on the research as it unfolds. If you would like to support efforts to find her, you can do so here.