Update on Upstate NY Amber Alert Regarding Possible Child Abduction

Update: 12-year-old girl found alive, in good health.  Suspect in custody. This is a developing story. Check back for more details.

Update here

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Police agencies throughout the northeast are on the lookout for a 9-year-old girl believed to have been been abducted.

An Amber Alert was issued by New York State Police in Sunday morning for Charlotte Sena, who was last seen riding her bicycle at the Moreau Lake State Park in Gansevoort, NY on Saturday evening, when she failed to return after a bike ride. Police say the young girl wanted to take one more bike ride around the park on Saturday and when she didn't return, her parents became concerned. Authorities say, the parents found the young girl's bike at around 6:45 pm, but she couldn't be located, so they called 9-1-1.

Police in New York have been conducting a statewide search for the 9-year-old since Saturday, and police in Vermont and Massachusetts have also been on the lookout for the child. There's no description or sighting of a possible abductor.

◦Missing Since- Sep 30, 2023 6:45 PM

◦Missing From- Gansevoort, NY

◦Age Now- 9

◦Sex Female

◦RaceWhite

◦Hair Color- Blonde

◦Eye Color- Green- 

Height- 4'6"

◦Weight-  90 lbs

◦Description- Last seen wearing an orange tie-dye Pokemon shirt, dark blue pants, black Crocs and a gray bike helmet

Here's the only information we have on Charlotte -

The New York State Police activated the New York State AMBER Alert on Sunday and is investigating a child abduction that occurred near Moreau Lake State Park, Loop A, Site 18, in Gansevoort, NY at about 6:45 PM on 9/30/2023. The CHILD, Charlotte E. Sena is a White female, approximately 9 years 1 month old with long, blonde hair and green eyes. She is approximately 4 feet 6 inches tall and weighs about 90 pounds. Charlotte was last seen wearing Orange tie-dye Pokemon shirt, dark blue pants, black crocs, gray bike helmet. The child was taken under circumstances that lead police to believe that they are in imminent danger of serious harm and/or death. Anyone with any information on this abduction is asked to call the New York State Police at (518) 457-6811 or dial 911 to provide information on a report or sighting.

A Local Connection Has People in the Mohawk Valley Remembering Sara Anne

While the Mohawk Valley continues to hope for Charlotte Sena to be retired home safely with her parents, people here in the Mohawk Valley can't help but remember a horrific abduction story 30 years ago. Charlotte's disappearance strikes a nerve with people of the Utica-Rome area because of the similarities to a landmark case back in 1993 when Sara Anne Wood was abducted on the

afternoon of August 18th, as she was riding her bike along a rural road near Norwich Corners in Sauquoit. Sara was 12.

Sara was believed to have been abducted less than a mile from her home and near the church where her father was the pastor. In 1995, Lewis Lent Jr., of North Adams, Massachusetts, was arrested and ultimately confessed to the abduction and murder of Wood, along with a 12-year-old boy, James Bernardo, who was murdered in 1990. To date, Lent has not revealed the whereabouts of Wood's burial site, and thus her remains have never been recovered.

The Sara Anne Wood abduction became a national news story in 1993 when it was covered by national television programs 48 Hours and America's Most Wanted. The abduction and ultimate death of Sara Anne Wood also inspired the Ride for Missing and Exploited Children, a fundraiser that still operates each spring in the Mohawk Valley, and throughout New York State.