9-year-old girl found safe after vanishing on New York camping trip; suspect detained
(CNN) — Charlotte Sena, the 9-year-old girl who went missing while on a camping trip at a New York state park two days ago, has been found safe and a suspect has been detained, authorities said Monday evening.
Police didn’t give specifics about where Charlotte was found, nor any additional details about the suspect.
“Charlotte Sena has been located and in good health,” New York State Police said in a news release Monday. “A suspect is in custody. This is still an active investigation.”
Charlotte, who was camping in Moreau Lake State Park with her family, went on a bike ride with close friends around dinner time and never returned, officials said.
Charlotte was last seen around 6:15 p.m. Saturday, riding her bike in one of the park’s loops. She had done a few loops with friends and wanted to do one more by herself, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said at a Sunday news conference. Her mother reported her missing around 6:45 p.m., after Charlotte’s bike was found in the loop without her, Lt. Colonel Richard Mazzone of the New York State Police said.
Mazzone said authorities feared, after not being able to find her close by, that Charlotte may have been abducted.
“Once they found her bike during that search, they realized she’s not on it, she hasn’t gone too far, she didn’t get lost. Something’s really wrong,” CNN Chief Law Enforcement and Intelligence Analyst John Miller said earlier.
Police on Monday canceled an Amber Alert that had been issued Sunday morning.
“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 said on social media after Charlotte was found.
The number of people searching for Charlotte had grown to 400 people by Monday morning, state police said earlier. Those helping were from 34 volunteer fire departments and private groups as well as federal, state and local law enforcement.
Before she was found, the search area had also expanded more than 46 linear miles, authorities said.
The very popular state park, roughly 45 miles north of Albany, is more than 6,200 acres and “lies amid hardwood forests, pine stands and rocky ridges,” according to the Department of Environmental Conservation.
Moreau Lake State Park said in a Facebook post it is closed until further notice.