Georgia Emergency Search and Rescue Available to Search for Missing Persons

ATLANTA – The Atlanta area has seen a large number of children disappear in recent weeks. A local nonprofit says it can help if people just call it.

At least 12 children have gone missing in Georgia, most in the Atlanta metro area, in the past month, according to the Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

Atlanta police are now asking for help locating two more: sisters Brea Billings, 13, and Lauren Billings, 14. Their family reports that they disappeared on Friday. They are among a dozen teenagers and children who have gone missing in Georgia in the past month.

“Right now we have children all over Gwinnett County in particular. We have a lot of Latino families missing their children. Dekalb County, Atlanta, Hall County, I can go on. The list goes on of children that are missing right now,” said Angel Alonso, board member of the nonprofit Georgia Emergency Search and Rescue.

Their team goes and helps find the missing children. But Alonso says they can only help when asked by a missing person's family or law enforcement. “We are here. Call us. We have the experience and we have to look for these kids,” Alonso said.

He mentioned hearing about 12-year-old Maria Gomez, who went missing from Gainesville more than a week ago, and asked for help in the case. A $20,000 reward is now being offered for his safe return. Gordon says they wish they had been called sooner on this case.

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“Time is of the essence, and we'd rather find them quickly than turn around or wait for hours or even days and then hear, 'Oh, by the way, we have a missing person.' And that’s what happens a lot,” said Brett Gordon, also a member of the nonprofit’s board of directors.

APD listed the Billings sisters as runaways, as many agencies do when a child runs away voluntarily. But Alonso says classification can be problematic. “That's when you start to say, 'Oh, they just ran away. They'll come back if they want to come back. And if not, you know, 'No. You have to investigate thoroughly,'” Alonso said.

He says often children who run away are lured by predators on social media. He gave the recent example of two girls who went missing in Gwinnett County and were classified as runaways. “One of the girls was found in Atlanta, Clayton County, in a home where she was being trafficked. She was not a runaway. She was a pedophile. She was someone who was a predator,” Alonso said.

He and Gordon are urging anyone with a missing family member to call them immediately. They say they have at least 30 years of experience searching for missing people and even have a K-9 unit. The group can be reached 24/7 at the following numbers:

• Angel Alonso: 470-525-8695
• Brett Gordon: 678-254-5690
• John Clark: 404-309-7386

Or you can email Georgia Emergency Search and Rescue to [email protected].