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Sheriff says 12-year-old girl who went missing from her Hall County home is considered 'missing and endangered' – WSB-TV Channel 2

HALL COUNTY, Ga. — The search for a missing 12-year-old girl in Hall County has expanded to include state and federal agents.

Maria Gomez-Perez was last seen almost two weeks ago.

Candace McCowan from Channel 2 was outside the Hall County Sheriff's Office where Sheriff Gerald Couch explained that a thorough investigation was underway into Gomez-Perez.

It is currently listed as extinct and endangered. Investigators say they still don't know where she is or what happened to her.

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On May 30, Gomez-Perez was reported missing from her home in Hall County. The sheriff's office says during that time they conducted several ground searches with K9s and even searched parts of Lake Lanier. They interviewed everyone who lives in her home, people from her school, friends and social media friends.

They worked with the Guatemalan Consulate General in Atlanta to help overcome language barriers.

“As for the investigators, the FBI provided a dozen people, Homeland Security provided six agents, and the GBI gave us four agents, bringing the total number of investigators on this case to 70 people, including several intelligence analysts,” Couch said.

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There was quite a bit of community organizing in this case.

“I feel like we can do more about this,” Edward Andrade said. Matt Johnson, Channel 2 Gwinnett County bureau chief.

“We’re just trying to do our part as a club and a community,” Andrade said. “We can’t give up.”

The sheriff's office announced Friday that anonymous citizens would be offering $20,000 as a reward for Gomez-Perez's disappearance.

“We hope this cash reward will encourage someone who knows something about Maria's whereabouts to come forward,” Couch said. “Our investigators and investigative partners are following up on every lead they get, but so far, none of those leads have led us to Maria.”

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