Charlotte Sena, the 9-year-old girl who vanished Saturday after going on a bike ride at a park in Upstate New York, was found alive and in “good health” on Monday evening, cops confirmed to The Daily Beast.
In a brief statement, New York State Police announced Sena was safe and said a suspect was in custody in connection to her disappearance. No other details were provided.
Citing police sources, the Albany Times Union reported that the unnamed suspect, who allegedly has a sexual abuse criminal history, left a note at Sena’s parents house—possibly demanding ransom money.
The Times Union reported that cops raided a house in Milton on Monday evening, about 13 miles south of where Sena lives.
Sena disappeared from Moreau Lake State Park, where she was camping with family and friends. Loved ones and volunteers in Saratoga County spent the last two days searching feverishly for the girl. It’s still unknown where Sena was eventually found.
Sena’s family said she was bike riding with close friends, but told them she wanted to ride one loop on her own. It was in those few minutes where she seemingly vanished without a trace.
Cops suggested Sena was snatched during her bike ride, pulled into a vehicle against her will or dragged into the woods, but loved ones said it was hard to understand how someone could have swiped the fourth grader as she rode on the short trail loop on her own.
A spokesperson with New York State Police told The Daily Beast that more details about what happened would be released later Monday night.
Scores of houses near the park combined to leave their front porch lights on in hopes that Sena would eventually show. An amber alert was sent to New York phones on Sunday that said the girl was in “in imminent danger of serious harm and/or death.”
Footage recorded by a NBC News reporter showed Sena’s family clapping and cheering together after they’d heard she was found. It’s unclear the exact time Sena was discovered, but cops posted to social media as recently as 6:27 p.m. that search efforts were ongoing. “They’re not telling us anything,” the family said, adding police had not yet provided them details.
Not including civilian volunteers, cops said 400 certified search and rescue personnel were dispatched to inside and around Moreau Lake State Park to search for Sena.
A GoFundMe for Sena’s search efforts had raised $15,255 by the time she was found.
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