The 9-year-old girl who authorities suspected was abducted Saturday in an upstate New York state park was found alive, state police said Monday night.
“Charlotte Sena has been located and in good health,” state police said in a statement. A suspect is in custody, state police said.
No other information was immediately available about how the girl was found or who the suspect is.
NBC News correspondent Kristen Dahlgren posted video on social media of the girl’s family clapping and cheering to the news Monday night that Charlotte was found safe. Multiple people in the video offered thank yous.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul praised investigators on social media for a swift resolution.
“After a 48-hour-long search, Charlotte Sena has been found. Extremely grateful to @nyspolice, @NYStateParks police, and all of our partners who worked tirelessly to locate Charlotte and ensure she could return home safely to her family,” Hochul wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.
The girl was riding a bike by herself at Moreau Lake State Park in Saratoga County on Saturday night when she went missing.
Shortly before, she was camping with her family when she was last seen around 6:15 p.m., state police said.
The girl was biking around a park loop with family friends and then did a loop by herself, authorities said.
Her bike was found on the loop.
State police activated an Amber Alert on Sunday, “for a child abduction” that occurred around 6:45 Saturday night.
Circumstances of the girl’s disappearance led police to suspect the child was in “imminent danger of serious harm and/or death,” according to the the Amber Alert.
State police said earlier on Monday that about 400 certified search and rescue personnel were looking for the girl over a distance that spanned 46 linear miles.
FBI and U.S. Marshals Service were assisting, state police said.
The investigation was classified as a missing child case, state police said.
Charlotte’s aunt, Jene Sena, told NBC News on Monday that her niece vanished in only minutes.
“She disappeared almost into thin air. I mean it was, minutes, minutes, between when she was last seen and when she wasn’t there anymore,” Sena said.
The state park where the child disappeared from is about 50 miles north of Albany.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
