Charlotte Sena, the 9-year-old girl who went missing last weekend during a bike ride at an upstate New York park, has been found, police announced Monday evening.
“Charlotte Sena has been located and is in good health. A suspect is in custody,” New York State Police said in a statement. They emphasized that the investigation is still active.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul stated during a Monday night news conference that the case began to unravel around 4:20 a.m. Monday when a car pulled up to the mailbox at the family’s home and left a ransom note. State police had been guarding the home while Sena’s parents were still at the campsite. They discovered the note, which led to a match with a fingerprint at 2:30 p.m. on Monday, connecting it to a DWI incident from 1999 in Saratoga, according to the governor.
After further research and detective work, officials located a double-wide house where the suspect’s mother resided. The suspect, a 47-year-old male who was still being questioned, lived in a camper behind his mother’s residence. Governor Hochul mentioned that after some resistance, the suspect was taken into custody.
Charlotte Sena, the missing 9-year-old, was discovered concealed in a cabinet.
“She knew that she was being rescued. She knew that she was in safe hands,” the governor stated.
Authorities notified her parents at 6:32 p.m. ET.
The suspect is still under questioning, and Governor Hochul stated they “fully expect” charges to be filed.
Although Governor Hochul acknowledged that it was a “traumatic event” for the family, she reassured that “Charlotte will be going home.”
On behalf of the Sena family, Jené Sena expressed their gratitude to authorities for finding Charlotte.
“We are thrilled that she is home, and we understand that the outcome is not what every family gets. A huge thank you to the FBI, the New York State Police, all of the agencies that were mobilized, all of the families, friends, volunteers,” the family statement read. Authorities confirmed earlier in the evening that the investigation remains active.
The search for Sena entered its third day on Monday morning, with her family appealing for any clues about her whereabouts.
“We just want her returned safely like any parent would,” the girl’s family said in a statement. “No tip is too small; please call if you know anything at all.”
Before she was located on Monday, Sena was last seen at Moreau Lake State Park in Saratoga County, New York, at 6:15 p.m. on Saturday, according to New York State Police. An Amber Alert had been issued for her.
There were concerns that the child might have been abducted from the park, as previously stated by the police. “The day turned into every parent’s nightmare,” Governor Hochul said during a news conference on Sunday.
An FBI spokesperson confirmed on Monday that its agents were “assisting our partners at the NYS Police with any technological and investigative needs.”
Approximately 400 certified search-and-rescue personnel from various local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies, as well as 34 volunteer fire departments and private search-and-rescue groups, combed the 6,250-acre Moreau Lake State Park for any signs of the missing child. Drones, bloodhounds, and an airboat were deployed in the search.
Moreau Lake State Park remained closed indefinitely to the public.
The search, led by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Forest Rangers, expanded over 46 linear miles, according to officials on Monday.
A temporary flight restriction was issued by the Federal Aviation Administration over the park “to ensure the safety of our aircraft operations,” as reported by the New York State Police. Sena, of Greenfield, New York, disappeared while on a bike ride at the campground where she was staying with family and friends, Governor Hochul said during the news conference.
Hochul explained that Sena was out riding her bike in the campground with friends she considered cousins around dinnertime on Sunday. She was doing one last lap around the park alone when she went missing. Her family and other campers initiated a search after her mother found her bike around 6:45 p.m. on Saturday and called 911, according to the police. Sena was on Loop A at the park when she disappeared, as reported by the police.
