Maria Sophia Diaz

• Missing Since 02/07/2023
• Missing From Douglas, Georgia
• Classification Endangered Missing
• Sex Female
• Race Hispanic
• Age 29 years old
• Height and Weight 5'3, 135 pounds
• Distinguishing Characteristics Hispanic female. Black hair, brown eyes.

Details of Disappearance

Diaz was last seen in the 900 block of East Ethel Street in Douglas, Georgia on February 7, 2023. She may have been attempting to leave a place locally known as "the Compound", which consists of three houses and a watchtower surrounded by a tall privacy fence. She reached out to two people asking for them to come pick her up, but neither of them responded. She has never been heard from again.

For some time she had been in an on-and-off relationship with Guillermo De La Cruz Morales. Eight months prior to her disappearance, Diaz had reported to police that she was the victim of sexual exploitation. Morales is a suspect in that case, and in Diaz's disappearance.

The Compound has been described by police as a "house of horrors" and they stated five criminal offenses have taken place at or near the property in the few years prior to Diaz's disappearance. At the time she went missing, the Compound was owned by a woman who had a child with Morales and called herself his wife, though they were not actually married. Morales was not living with her there, but he was the property manager. Investigators think Diaz did go willingly to the Compound the day she went missing.

A photo of Morales is posted with this case summary. He is a Mexican national and had been living in the United States illegally, and police described him as a dangerous person who had threatened others. After Diaz went missing, he was arrested for aggravated assault, false imprisonment, felony drug offenses, weapons offenses and a sex pornography charge. Three of the charges are directly related to Diaz's disappearance.

Authorities do not believe Diaz left of her own accord and they consider her to be in extreme danger; they think that wherever she is, she isn't able to reach out for help. She left behind three children. Her disappearance remains unsolved. Authorities described Morales as uncooperative in the investigation into what happened to her.

After Diaz's disappearance, the Compound was declared unfit for human habitation by the local code enforcement and the property was sold by its former owner, who left the state.