The search for Charlotte Sena, a nine-year-old who went missing from a New York state park Saturday evening, has ramped up, and now her family is asking for the public’s help.
Charlotte was last seen around 6:15 p.m. riding her bicycle at Moreau Lake State Park in Gansevoort, New York about 45 miles north of Albany. Initially, she went on a bike ride with friends, but wanted to do one more loop by herself.
Her mother reported her missing around 6:45 p.m. after her bike was found along the path without her.
State police arrived at the scene around 7 p.m. and began an extensive search of the 6,200-acre park.
On Sunday morning officials issued an Amber Alert.
“Following our exhaustive search of the park we took that step of issuing the Amber Alert because we felt that that exhaustive search, when we couldn’t find her here, it was quite possible that an abduction had taken place,” said Lt. Colonel Richard Mazzone of the Uniform Force of the State Police.
“The child was taken under circumstances that lead police to believe that they are in imminent danger of serious harm and/or death,” the alert read.
Meanwhile, Charlotte’s family is pleading with the public to come forward with any information.
“No tip is insignificant, so if anyone has any information at all …,” Jené Sena, Charlotte’s aunt, said. “She is a blonde, adorable 9-year-old little girl with bangs. She has green eyes, just under 5 feet tall and she is just a sweet, adorable girl.”
During a briefing on Sunday, New York Governor Kathy Hochul said, “We are leaving no stone, no branch, no table, no cabin unturned, untouched, unexamined in our search to find Charlotte.”
Currently, there are more than 100 people, which includes civilians, police, and forest rangers, searching for the nine-year-old. Authorities are also using bloodhounds, drones, and boats to search the state park.
The park remains closed indefinitely.
Now is a “critical time” in the search to find Charlotte Sena.
“This is a critical time. The statistics tell us in possible abductions, which this well may be, that first 24 to 48 hours is critical,” CNN Chief Law Enforcement and Intelligence Analyst John Miller said on CNN This Morning. “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.”
Charlotte, who grew up approximately 10 miles from where she went missing, was last seen wearing a tie-dye Pokemon t-shirt, dark blue pants, gray helmet, and black Crocs.
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