Police and community members are searching for a 9-year-old girl who went missing on Saturday evening during a family camping trip in New York.
Charlotte Sena was last seen at Moreau Lake State Park in Saratoga County, about 50 miles north of Albany, around 6:15 p.m.
New York Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul told reporters that Sena and her family were camping about 15 minutes from home. The little girl had been biking around Loop A of the park with family friends and decided to ride around the loop one more time by herself.
When the child didn’t come back fifteen minutes later, her parents and other people camping nearby started searching for her. Sena’s bike was discovered on the loop at 6:45 p.m., which prompted her mother to call 911. State police arrived 15 minutes later, Hochul said. She called the situation “every parent’s worst nightmare.”
***AMBER ALERT UPDATED DESCRIPTION*** PLEASE SHARE! NYSP has activated AMBER Alert for a child abduction that occurred near Moreau Lake State Park in Gansevoort, NY at about 6:45 PM on 9/30/2023. Anyone with any information should call the NYSP at (518) 457-6811 or dial 911. pic.twitter.com/vE6YGbdDP9
— NewYorkStatePolice (@nyspolice) October 1, 2023
New York State Police activated an Amber Alert on Sunday morning, describing Sena’s disappearance as a “child abduction.”
“The child was taken under circumstances that lead police to believe that they are in imminent danger of serious harm and/or death,” the Amber Alert says.
Lt. Col. Richard Mazzone told reporters Sunday that they performed an “exhaustive search” of the park and determined it was “quite possible” the child was abducted.
Hochul said there are “over 100 personnel deployed and 75 law enforcement on the ground” involved in the search. The team includes NY State Police K-9s and bloodhounds, Moreau Lake State Park forest rangers, six underwater rescue teams, two drones, an airboat, a Sonar boat, and technology experts to “analyze other forms of communications in the park.”
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“We are leaving no stone, no branch, no table, no cabin unturned, untouched, unexamined in our search to find Charlotte,” Hochul said. “I promised her parents we will find her daughter. She’s all of our daughters. Their family needs love. They need prayers.”
“Hearts are broken here today in New York,” she continued. “Hopefully there’ll be a reunion. Hopefully they’ll be a family that has been traumatized, but is reunited. That is our prayer and our hope at this time.”
“We just want her returned safely like any parent would. No tip is too small, please call if you know anything at all,” the Sena family said in a statement.
Sena was last seen at 6:15 p.m. wearing an orange tie-dye Pokémon shirt, dark blue pants, black Crocs, and a gray bike helmet. She is 4 feet, 6 inches tall, weighs 90 pounds, and has blond hair.
Anyone with any information is asked to call the New York State Police at 518-477-9333 or 911.