An Amber Alert has been issued for 9-year-old Charlotte Sena, who disappeared while riding her bike in New York's Moreau Lake State Park during a family camping trip.
Searchers with bloodhounds, K-9 teams, boats and drones are desperately searching for 9-year-old Charlotte Sena, a New York girl who disappeared while riding her bicycle near the campsite of her vacationing family.
The little girl vanished Saturday evening when she made one final loop around a trail at Moreau Lake State Park in Saratoga County, about 50 miles north of Albany.
“She said she just wanted to go around one more time by herself – be that big girl, do it by herself,” said New York Gov. Kathy Hochul at a Sunday press conference after authorities issued an Amber Alert for the child.
"Literally 15 minutes later, she hadn’t come back yet, and that’s really when the nightmare begins,” the governor said.
Charlotte's mother, Trisha Sena, called 911 about 6:45 p.m. to report her missing. Her abandoned bicycle had been found on Loop A, a paved trail near her campsite, authorities said.
The family is distraught, the governor said.
The Amber Alert said Charlotte was believed to be in "imminent danger of serious harm or death."
The fourth-grader was described by relatives as a loving, intelligent, kind girl who had just been named to her school's student council.
"She is a blonde, adorable 9-year-old little girl with bangs. She has green eyes, (is) just under five feet tall and she is just a sweet, adorable girl," her aunt, Jenè Sena, told a local station.
The Corinth Central School District, where Charlotte attends class, issued a statement saying counselors had been deployed on campus. "The Sena family has the full support of the entire Corinth district and community," the statement said.
When she was last seen, Charlotte was wearing an orange tie-dyed Pokémon shirt with dark blue pants, black Crocs and a gray bike helmet, authorities said. She is 4 feet, 6 inches tall and weighs 90 pounds.
Moreau Lake State Park has been closed since her disappearance. Park officials asked people to stay away from the 6,250-acre site.
Anyone with information is asked to call the New York State Police at (518) 457-6811 or dial 911.
“We are leaving no stone, no branch, no table, no cabin unturned, untouched, unexamined in our search to find Charlotte,” Gov. Hochul said. “If you know anything, if you’ve seen anything, if you hear anything, please contact 911 to tell us what you know.”
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