Crime & Safety

Girl Sexually Assaulted, Murdered

Since 5:30 p.m. Friday, authorities had been searching for Jorelys Rivera, the 7-year-old girl who was last seen at the River Ridge apartment complex off Reinhardt College Parkway.

Editor's note: Due to erroneous information from the , previous versions of this story misspelled the name of Jorelys Rivera.

Update 10:15 p.m. Tuesday

There will be just one vigil for , and it will be held from 6 to 9 p.m. Friday at .

Originally, there were two vigils planned, one on Wednesday at Heritage Park and another on Friday in front of the River Ridge apartment complex.

Find out what's happening in Canton-Sixeswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

"Out of respect for the complex and as a request of the 's ongoing investigation, we moved it to Heritage Park," organizer Tina Ryan said. "The two vigils have been combined for Friday night."

For footage from today's press conference announcing the results of an autopsy, click .

Find out what's happening in Canton-Sixeswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Update 11:18 p.m. Monday

Another vigil planned for 6 p.m. Wednesday at is still a go, but organizers have pushed it back one hour.

Instead of 6 p.m., the ceremony will be held at 7 p.m. Click here for details.

The other vigil will be held from 6 to 9 p.m. Friday in front of the River Ridge apartment complex, according to another announcement circulating on Facebook. For more information on that one, go to http://www.facebook.com/events/146347572134229/.

Stay tuned to canton-ga.patch.com for updates.

Update 8:56 p.m. Monday

A candlelight vigil for Jorelys Rivera, the 7-year-old Canton girl whose body was found in a Dumpster this afternoon, will be held from 6 to 9 p.m. Friday in front of the River Ridge apartment complex, according to an announcement circulating on Facebook. For more information, go to http://www.facebook.com/events/146347572134229/.

It's not clear if another vigil planned for 6 p.m. Wednesday at is still a go. Originally on the Facebook page, the announcement has been taken down.

Stay tuned to canton-ga.patch.com for updates.

Update 7:15 p.m. Monday

A few updates:

  • Georgia State Patrol is stopping every car that enters or exits the River Ridge apartment complex.
  • On Facebook, people are being asked to turn and keep on their porch lights in memory of Jorelys Rivera from 8 p.m. tonight until 7 a.m. Tuesday.
  • An autopsy will be conducted at the Georgia Bureau of Investigation crime lab tonight. Tuesday, authorities will hold a 10:30 a.m. press conference at the , said Lt. Jay Baker, spokesman for the .

Stay tuned to canton-ga.patch.com for updates.

Update 2:23 p.m. Monday

An attempt to reach principal Gwen Lince wasn't successful today, but spokeswoman Barbara Jacoby has issued this statement:

"We are deeply saddened by the tragic and untimely death of first-grade student, Jorelys Rivera. Additional counselors and other support staff are being provided at Canton ES to assist students and staff. The Cherokee County School District continues to cooperate with local and state law enforcement agencies relative to the ongoing investigation. The School District does not and will not comment on ongoing police investigations; accordingly, all questions in this regard should be directed to the Canton Police Department."

Stay tuned to canton-ga.patch.com for updates.

Update 2:10 p.m. Monday

Jorelys Rivera, the missing 7-year-old Canton girl, was found two hours ago in a Dumpster at the River Ridge apartment complex, Georgia Bureau of Investigation director Vernon Keenan told Canton-Sixes Patch.

Authorities have moved the Dumpster to an area of brush and scrub on Reinhardt College Parkway. Investigators are processing the scene.

Stay tuned to canton-ga.patch.com for updates.

Update 10:45 a.m. Monday

The search for Jorelys Rivera, the 7-year-old Canton girl who may have been abducted Friday evening, has expanded, Lt. Jeff Hall said during a press conference this morning.

Joining the and the are the Georgia State Patrol, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and other state resources.

"They're here for support," Hall said. "They'll give you ideas. Anybody that can give us ideas, we're listening to them. The feds and the GBI are great resources. They are trained in this type of investigation. The more minds we put in something, the better off we'll be."

Since 5:30 p.m. Friday, officers have searched for Rivera, who was wearing a pink shirt, blue jeans and black boots. Friday. A Hispanic female, she stands 3 feet tall and weighs 80 pounds.

A teenage babysitter was supposed to be watching the girl at the River Ridge apartment complex, but Hall said today that the babysitter "went to another location for a period of time."

Saturday, authorities changed the focus of the investigation from a missing person and search operation to a possible child abduction case.

Police spokeswoman Candy Worthy said probation officers and deputies have spoken with local sex offenders in the area.

At today's press conference, Hall said authorities were "looking at everybody" as suspects.

"Nobody's being ruled out right now," he said. "Nobody's ruled in. We have no viable suspects at this time."

When asked if authorities were frustrated as the search inches closer to the 72-hour mark, Hall said, "If you get frustrated, you start giving up hope. We're not frustrated. We don't want to lose focus. Finding the little girl is our mission. That's why everybody's here. That's why everybody's ready to stay as long as it takes."

Also, officials announced a $5,000 reward for the "safe return" of Rivera. Lt. Jay Baker, spokesman for the , said that amount may rise. 

Individuals who would like to donate to the "Bring Jorleys Rivera Home Reward Fund" may stop by any located in Canton, Holly Springs or Woodstock. All donations are tax deductible. They can also be mailed to the Bring Jorleys Rivera Home Fund, c/o Cherokee Sheriff's Foundation, P.O. Box 4250, Canton, GA 30114. Checks should be made payable to the Cherokee Sheriff's Foundation.

Stay tuned to canton-ga.patch.com for updates.

Update 10:04 a.m. Monday

A press conference is scheduled for 10:45 a.m., said Lt. Jay Baker, spokesman for the .

Stay tuned to canton-ga.patch.com for updates.

Update 9:10 p.m. Sunday

Teams are scaling back the search for the evening, Lt. Jeff Hall said. It will resume at 7 a.m. Monday.

Stay tuned to canton-ga.patch.com for updates.

Update 2:39 p.m. Sunday

A candlelight prayer service for Jorelys Rivera, the 7-year-old girl who may have been abducted Friday evening, has been scheduled for 6 p.m. Wednesday at , according to a post on the 's Facebook page.

Stay tuned to canton-ga.patch.com for updates.

Update 11:21 a.m. Sunday

A tip line has been established to aid investigators in the search of Jorelys Rivera, the 7-year-old girl who may have been abducted Friday evening.

The number is 770-345-4189.

Stay tuned to canton-ga.patch.com for updates.

Update 9:38 a.m. Sunday

The siblings of Jorelys Rivera, the 7-year-old girl who may have been abducted Friday evening, are in the custody of the , spokeswoman Candy Worthy said this morning.

"The children were taken because of lack of supervision," she said. "Obviously, Jorelys disappeared because she was not being watched properly. So the younger two children were taken and placed with DFACS."

Worthy said the move was "normal and procedural," and that authorities "don't think" Rivera's mother had anything to do with her disappearance "at this point. We just think that she was not supervising well enough to keep all of the children safe."

Since 5:30 p.m. Friday, officers have searched for Rivera, who was wearing a pink shirt, blue jeans and black boots. Friday. A Hispanic female, she stands 3 feet tall and weighs 80 pounds.

Saturday, officers said they were changing the focus of the investigation from a missing person and search operation to a possible child abduction case.

Overnight, "there has been talk that leads came in," Worthy said. "We will be checking into those leads."

Stay tuned to canton-ga.patch.com for updates.

Update 3:18 p.m. Saturday

The search for 7-year-old Jorelys Rivera, who was last seen around 5 p.m. Friday at the River Ridge apartment complex, has been upgraded from a missing person and search operation to a possible child abduction case, spokeswoman Candy Worthy said this afternoon.

"We have been slowly pushing in that direction during the day today," she said. "We have searched most of the perimeters that were established this morning and our search grids should be complete by night fall. At this time, we are treating the case as a child abduction for the safety of the child. We have probation officers and deputies speaking with the local sex offenders in the area to rule all of them out. We are also working with the school system and the family to learn more about the child's friends."

Officers have been searching for Rivera, who was wearing a pink shirt, blue jeans and black boots, since 5:30 p.m. Friday. She stands 3 feet tall and weighs 80 pounds.

Worthy said volunteers are not needed at this time.

"We have a large amount of people in the area and have exhausted all of the searching perimeter areas," she said.

Stay tuned to canton-ga.patch.com for updates.

Update 7:52 a.m. Saturday

Seven-year-old Jorelys Rivera, who was last seen around 5 p.m. Friday at the River Ridge apartment complex off Reinhardt College Parkway, has not been located, spokeswoman Candy Worthy said this morning.

"We are confirming that the child is still missing at this time," she wrote in an emailed briefing to metro Atlanta media outlets. "We are continuing our search again this morning. We don't really have much of an update except that we are still searching for the missing child."

Officers have been searching for Rivera, who was wearing a pink shirt, blue jeans and black boots, since 5:30 p.m. Friday. She stands 3 feet tall and weighs 80 pounds.

Stay tuned to canton-ga.patch.com for updates.

Original Report Below 11:29 p.m. Friday

are searching for a missing child.

Jorelys Rivera, 7, of Canton was last seen around 5 p.m. at the River Ridge apartment complex off Reinhardt College Parkway, police spokeswoman Candy Worthy said. She was wearing a pink shirt, blue jeans and black boots.

Rivera stands 3 feet tall and weighs 80 pounds.

"We currently have officers going door-to-door," Worthy said.

Stay tuned to canton-ga.patch.com for updates.


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