NEW YORK — The 9-year-old girl who disappeared on a family camping trip in an upstate New York park has been found alive and a suspect is in custody, officials said Monday.
Charlotte Sena was believed to have been abducted about 40 miles north of Albany in Moreau Lake State Park on Saturday, according to state police.
During the investigation, law enforcement identified a suspect in the abduction of Charlotte from the “Loop A” trail in the park, state police said in a statement.
Officials searched multiple residences where the suspect was known to reside and found Charlotte just after 6:30 p.m. Monday, they added.
State police said Charlotte was found “safe and in good health.”
“We are overjoyed at the news that Charlotte Sena has been located safely this evening after an intense days-long search,” Gov. Hochul said in a Monday statement. “Our hearts are with her family as they welcome her home.”
State police sources told the Albany Times Union the suspect — who allegedly has history of criminal sexual abuse — left a possible ransom note at Charlotte’s parents’ home, which Hochul noted Sunday was just a 15 minute drive from where she went missing.
On Monday evening, police reportedly raided a house in Milton, N.Y., about 13 miles from Charlotte’s home.
It was not immediately clear if Charlotte was found at that house or another location the suspect frequented.
She’d gone for a bike ride alone after riding the loop in the park several times with close friends the girl considered cousins, officials said in a press conference over the weekend.
Fifteen minutes later on the “picture perfect fall day,” Charlotte hadn’t yet returned, Hochul said Sunday at a news conference at the state park.
“That’s really when the nightmare begins,” she said. “Her parents knew immediately something was up. They called her name. People started searching. People from other campgrounds joined and thirty minutes after, at 6:47, Charlotte’s mother Trisha called 911.”
During the “chaotic” search, Charlotte’s bike was found on the loop she was riding on, but she was nowhere to be found.
Within a half hour, state police, forest rangers and park police were on site joining in the search. They deployed blood hounds, drones, helicopters and underwater rescue teams in search of the fourth grader.
Hundreds of search and rescue personnel aided in the gripping 48-hour search, including the Schenectady fire office, where Charlotte’s uncle is a member.
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(New York Daily News reporter Rocco Parascandola contributed to this story.)
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