'Thank you God.' Relief sweeps family, community as missing 9-year-old NY girl found safe
Family and school district officials rejoiced in the hours following the safe return of 9-year-old Saratoga County girl Charlotte Sena, who was found Monday night after being missing for 48 hours.
A GoFundMe, which has exceeded $18,000, was reactivated by Charlotte's aunt, Jene Sena — Sena added on Facebook that "any donations will go directly to her parents to help with any expenses while they transition back into some sense of normalcy."
"Thank you God and the FBI, NYSP, all the multiple agencies, friends, family, volunteers, community members, who worked tirelessly to bring Charlotte home!!!!!!! GOD IS GOOD," Sena said online on Monday.
Corinth Central School District, where Charlotte attends school, posted Monday on X, asking district attendees to wear orange on Tuesday to celebrate Sena being found.
Who is Charlotte Sena?
Charlotte Sena, 9, was camping with her family at Moreau Lake State Park in Saratoga County Saturday.
She is a fourth-grader from Greenfield, Saratoga County, who was at the park camping with her family and was riding her bike around the park when she disappeared Saturday evening.
Charlotte is the middle child of three girls. Her father, David Sena, is a union pipe fitter, and her mother, Trisha, is a food service inspector for Stewart's Shops convenience stores. The family's hometown of Greenfield is about 15 minutes from the state park.
Tuesday, October 2nd is WEAR ORANGE for UNITY DAY at CCSD!
Celebrate the safe return of Charlotte by wearing your orange!!!
(Kindly share and spread the word!) #CorinthisCommunity
(Other schools are joining us in wearing orange in support of Corinth! Thank you!!) pic.twitter.com/bJPaLTq14E— Corinth Central School District (@CorinthNY) October 3, 2023
What happened to Charlotte Sena?
Charlotte was riding her bike around a loop in the park with friends when she decided to ride around one more time by herself.
Latest updates: Missing 9-year-old girl found safe; suspect tied to ransom note arrested
Her parents became alarmed when she failed to come back after 15 minutes, Gov. Kathy Hochul said at a briefing Sunday. The girl's mother called 911 after her bicycle was found about 6:45 p.m. Saturday. She was last seen around 6:15 p.m., according to police.
Thank you, thank you, thank you!! 🙏🙏 pic.twitter.com/TZWzV6StIe
— Mark Stratton (@CorinthSuper) October 2, 2023
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle reporter Victoria E. Freile contributed to this report.
Emily Barnes is the New York State Team consumer advocate reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Contact Barnes at ebarnes@gannett.com or on Twitter @byemilybarnes.
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This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Charlotte Sena updates: Family, school rejoice as missing NY girl found
