Midwest

Georgia girl, 12, missing since May, found safe in Ohio; suspect arrested

Published

2 years ago

July 27, 2024

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Georgia girl, 12, missing since May, found safe in Ohio; suspect arrested

A missing 12-year-old Georgia girl last seen in May was found in Ohio, and a suspect has been arrested.

Maria Gomez-Perez was found in Dover, Ohio, Thursday, Fox Atlanta reported.

She was found at a shopping center with 31-year-old Antonio Agustin, a citizen of Guatemala.

CALIFORNIA MOM WHO FAKED KIDNAPPING ACTS LIKE HOAX ‘NEVER EXISTED’ AS ‘BLINDSIDED’ HUSBAND BREAKS SILENCE

Maria Gomez-Perez, 12, was found safe in Ohio after going missing in Georgia in May. Antonio Agustin, 31, has been arrested in the disappearance, authorities said. (Hall County Sheriff’s Office and Tuscarawas County Sheriff’s Office)

“Maria had indicated that she was unhappy, and she would like to leave home,” Hall County Sheriff Gerald Couch said. Agustin allegedly drove to Georgia to meet Gomez-Perez at her home May 29.

Investigators said a break in the case came last week when the girl contacted her father on a new social media account. She told him she was OK and to stop looking for her, the sheriff said.

SHERRI PAPINI, WHO FAKED HER OWN KIDNAPPING, RELEASED FROM PRISON

Detectives tracked the IP address to a phone in Ohio. Agustin was arrested on suspicion of rape, but more charges are possible, Couch said.

“Technology can be a wonderful thing. It helped us locate Maria” said Couch. “But technology can also be used for evil. It’s why Maria was able to leave Gainesville with a stranger and travel nine hours from her home.”

Hall County Sheriff Gerald Couch holds a news conference to speak about the Maria Gomez-Perez case. (Hall County Sheriff’s Office)

Fox News Digital has reached out to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement regarding Agustin’s legal status.

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Iowa

Iowa City school board selects familiar face as interim superintendent

Published

6 minutes ago

June 27, 2026

Press Room

Iowa City school board selects familiar face as interim superintendent

IOWA CITY, Iowa (KCRG) – The Iowa City Community School District Board of Education has hired Amy Kortemeyer as the district’s new interim superintendent, effective July 1, 2026.

Kortemeyer brings more than three decades of experience in education, including several leadership roles within ICCSD.

She previously served as the district’s deputy superintendent from 2021 to 2023, assistant superintendent from 2016 to 2021, and director of elementary schools in 2015.

As of recent, Kortemeyer served as superintendent of the Linn-Mar Community School District.

Background and qualifications

Kortemeyer has held leadership roles in both Iowa City and Linn-Mar, serving as a superintendent, district-level curriculum leader, elementary principal and a classroom teacher.

She holds a superintendent’s certification and a master’s degree in elementary reading and language arts from the University of Northern Iowa, and a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from the University of Iowa.

In 2020, Kortemeyer was named a School Administrators of Iowa Central Office Administrator.

In 2016, she was selected for the American Association of School Administrators Aspiring Women Leaders Program.

Board response

“Amy brings a wealth of experience, a deep understanding of our district, and a proven record of educational leadership,” said Ruthina Malone, president of the Iowa City Community School District Board of Directors.

“We are confident her leadership will bring stability to the district and gain confidence back from the community in our financial situation. Amy has the skillset to really serve our district well as our interim superintendent, and we are excited to work with her.”

Kortemeyer said she is honored to return to the district.

“I am honored by the opportunity to return to the Iowa City Community School District as interim superintendent,” Kortemeyer said. “Having previously served here, I know firsthand the dedication of our educators, staff, students, families, and community members. I am grateful to work in collaboration with the Board and our employees to provide leadership during this time of transition as we support student success, strengthen relationships, and prepare the district for its next leader.”

Role and responsibilities

As interim superintendent, Kortemeyer will work with the Board of Directors, district staff, students, families and community partners.

Her role will include supporting the district’s strategic priorities and preparing for the transition to a permanent superintendent.

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Kansas

Ghana to face either Portugal or Colombia in KC Round of 32 match

Published

9 minutes ago

June 27, 2026

Press Room

Ghana to face either Portugal or Colombia in KC Round of 32 match

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Group Stage play wraps up in Kansas City on Saturday night with a match between Algeria and Austria at Arrowhead Stadium. While that matchup is set, the clubs in Kansas City’s next match in the Round of 32 on July 3 are not.

The Round of 32 match will feature the winner of Group K facing off against the third-place team from Group D, E, I, J, or L. It was determined later Saturday that the third-place team from Group L, which is Ghana, will be in Kansas City.

In Group K, Colombia and Portugal will play at 6:30 p.m. Saturday. Both teams have already qualified for the knockout round; Saturday’s match will decide who plays in Kansas City, though.

If Colombia wins or forces a draw, they’ll play at Arrowhead in the Round of 32. If Portugal wins, it’ll be them at Arrowhead on July 3.

Click here to view FIFA World Cup Group Stage standings.

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Michigan

Michigan State hockey breaks program record with nine NHL Draft picks

Published

36 minutes ago

June 27, 2026

Press Room

Michigan State hockey breaks program record with nine NHL Draft picks

Buffalo, N.Y. — The day after a school record-tying five Michigan State players and commits heard their names called at the 2026 NHL Draft, four more future Spartans joined them as NHL draft picks and broke another program record.

Michigan State finished the NHL Draft at Buffalo’s KeyBank Center with nine current and future Spartans drafted to the NHL, breaking a program high of eight draftees in both 1990 and 2025. NHL teams selected Michigan State commits Brooks Rogowski, Jonas Kemps, Nick Bogas and Cullen McCrate on Saturday’s closing day of the draft.

Rogowski, a center, was the first player off the board Saturday, going 33rd overall to Vancouver. Then left-shot defenseman Kemps went to Florida 98th overall in the fourth round and left-shot defenseman Bogas went to St. Louis at 139th overall in the fifth round. McCrate, a right-shot defenseman, went to Boston 216th overall in the seventh round to round out the group.

Defenseman Chase Reid (seventh overall, Seattle) headlined Friday’s group of five first-round picks that set a Michigan State record in one draft class. Nikita Klepov (15th, Anaheim), Ethan Belchetz (17th, Utah), Jack Hextall (30th, Calgary) and defenseman Tommy Bleyl (31st, Nashville) were also first-rounders.

Michigan State will set an NCAA record when its nine first-round draft picks hit the ice in 2026-27. That is the most on a college hockey roster in history, breaking the previous record of seven held by rival Michigan in 2021-22.

A defensive-first blueliner, Kemps comes from the USHL’s Chicago Steel, where he scored two goals and notched seven assists in 57 games played. The previous season, Kemps played in 49 games for the U.S. National Team Development Program’s U17 team and finished the year with no goals and eight assists. He will play for the WHL’s Seattle Thunderbirds next season before arriving in East Lansing for the 2027-28 season.

Bogas came from the NTDP, too, playing there this most recent season though he suffered an ankle injury in November that derailed his draft year. He got a lot of support from his family, including his dad and Michigan State alum Chris Bogas (1995-99), as well as his coaches.

“I’d just say I had a lot of support,” Bogas said. “My dad’s friends, they had very similar injuries, they reached out. And my coach Kevin Porter had a very similar injury. He helped me a lot, too. Just trust the process and it’s all gonna work out.”

He spent most of the year rehabbing the injury, returning in March and finishing the season with two goals and two assists in 37 games. He’ll join Kemps in Michigan State’s 2027-28 class. And though he even knows what NHL organization he could one day play for now, he doesn’t know where he’s going to play next season.

“I don’t really know yet,” Bogas said. “So, we’ll see. … It’s kind of out of my control again.”

McCrate, a 6-foot-2 defenseman born in Adrian, played the past two seasons in the USHL, scoring 30 points in 61 games for the Fargo Force in his draft year. He also played AAA for Little Caesars. Whether McCrate, 19, will play for Michigan State this season or next isn’t known.

Bogas following CCHA champion father to Michigan State

Bogas was born in Royal Oak, and he grew up a fan of Red Wings defenseman Niklas Kronwall. And much like those “Kronwalled” hits used to pull fans out of their seats, Bogas once had an aunt come up with his own tagline, “Bogied,” when he lined someone up at 13. He says he models his game after the Swedish defenseman.

Bogas got to decide the Michigan State part of his journey without much interference from his father, who was the 148th overall pick of Toronto in 1996. Then again, seeing him stay so close to his old teammates, 1998 CCHA champions, made him want to follow the same path. He’s already got one close friend at Michigan State: Hextall, who will play for the Spartans this year.

“We played against each other like our whole lives, but we never really knew each other,” Bogas said. “He’d usually score a lot of goals against my team, but now we’re almost best friends. We basically talk every day, like it’s awesome. I can’t say enough good things about him.”

Even if Michigan State is one of the Big Ten’s record-setting hockey programs, Bogas’ interests are more in what comes when those records collect dust.

“I know the coaching staff is unbelievable, and the facilities are unbelievable,” Bogas said. “I think the lifelong memories and friends (my dad) made from Michigan State was a big part.”

Two players with Western Michigan ties drafted

If one of Western Michigan’s draft hopefuls had to wait through almost the whole draft to hear his name called, it was worth it: Bobby Cowan is a draft pick in the NHL.

Cowan went 205th overall to the New York Islanders, who drafted the rising sophomore in th seventh round. From Edina, Minn., Cowan had five goals and logged 24 points in 39 games as a freshman in the bottom six.

Cowan is one of two Western Michigan players or commits picked in the draft. The Broncos also had a fifth-round pick, 154th overall to Tampa Bay in Cooper Soller. The 5-10, right-shot forward from Los Angeles scored 26 goals and 49 points in 62 games for the USHL’s Sioux Falls Stampede. He will be back there this season before joining Western Michigan in 2027-28.

Western Michigan finished the season third in the NCHC and made the NCAA Tournament for the fifth straight year under Pat Ferschweiler, but the Broncos lost to eventual national champion Denver in a regional final. Western Michigan had beaten Denver in the Frozen Four en route to its 2025 national championship the year prior.

cearegood@detroitnews.com

@ConnorEaregood

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