Family members of missing Charlotte Sena have issued desperate pleas for her safe return more than 36 hours after the nine-year-old vanished from a state park in upstate New York.
Charlotte was last seen at Moreau Lake State Park in Saratoga County on Saturday evening during a camping trip with her parents and other family members. She had been riding her bike with other children when she decided to go for one last ride by herself.
“She said she just wanted to go around one more time by herself – be that big girl, do it by herself,” Governor Kathy Hochul said during a press conference on Sunday. “Literally 15 minutes later, she hadn’t come back yet ... and that’s really when the nightmare begins.”
Charlotte’s mother Trisha Sena called 911 at around 6.15pm on Saturday when the child’s bike was found abandoned. New York State Police issued an Amber Alert for Charlotte the following day, with authorities now warning that she may have been abducted and could be in imminent danger of being harmed.
Ms Sena described her daughter as a “good and trusting” kid in a brief interview with the Times Union published on Sunday.
“I just want my daughter back,” the distraught mother said.
Charlotte’s aunt Jenè Sena said in a Facebook post that the family is overwhelmed but thankful for everyone sharing information about her niece’s disappearance.
“Praying and sharing her photos is the best way anyone can help right now,” she wrote. “Right now there are no updates..”
She also described her niece as an “adorable and sweet” child.
“She is a blonde, adorable nine-year-old little girl with bangs, she has green eyes, just under five feet tall and she is just a sweet, adorable girl,” Jenè Sena told WHAM-TV.
Charlotte Sena, 9, vanished Saturday evening from Moreau Lake State Park in Saratoga County, New York— (New York State Police)
The Corinth Central School District, where Charlotte Sena attends fourth grade, said in a statement: “The Sena family has the full support of the entire Corinth district and community.
“The district has mobilised its crisis team which has training and protocol to follow for such situations. Our staff will be ready to respond to student concerns and questions.
“We will also have extra counsellors on site for any students or staff who should need their support.”
Over 100 personnel were deployed on Sunday to find her, including 75 law enforcement on the ground, two drones and airboat search teams, as well as six underwater rescue teams, Governor Hochul said. The FBI has also been conducting interviews with those in the park and around the region, police said.
“We are leaving no stone, no branch, no table, no cabin, unturned, untouched, unexamined in our search to find Charlotte,” the governor said.
Authorities have asked the public to avoid the area where Charlotte was last seen as the park remains closed. Family and friends of the missing nine-year-old have reportedly been turned away from the site and the Moreau Lake State Park issued a statement warning the public to “leave the searching to the professionals.”
“I cannot imagine what they’re going through right now,” Patrick Kane, a family friend of the Senas, told CBS6. “[Right now police] just want us to stand down and wait for further instructions. We’re just here to help. We’ll do whatever we can.”
Mr Kane called Charlotte’s father Dave Sena a “devoted’ father” to the missing nine-year-old and her two sisters.
“He and his wife are just heartbroken right now because it’s been two nights this young lady is away,” Mr Kane added. “He coaches every sport you could imagine and attends everything the girls do.”
Charlotte is approximately 4 feet 6 inches tall and weighs about 90 pounds.
She was last seen wearing a pink tie-dye Pokemon shirt, dark blue pants, black Crocs and a grey bike helmet.
