After a frantic search, cops claimed ‘victory’ Tuesday in locating a Bronx girl reported as being kidnapped on Monday night — but doubts surfaced in her story.
Several news outlets reported that Karol Sanchez, 16, confessed to staging her own kidnapping. The NYPD, however, could not immediately confirm whether those reports were accurate, pending information still being obtained in the investigation.
Sanchez was reportedly found safe and in good condition on Tuesday afternoon. She was reported abducted off the South Bronx street while walking with her mother on the night of Dec. 16.
The case triggered a widespread search and national attention. A mass Amber Alert was issued at around 10:30 a.m. on cellphones across the city, urging the public to be on the lookout for press reports about the kidnapping.
City government and the NYPD took the case seriously. Federal agents were brought in to assist with the probe, and the city’s Emergency Management Department tweeted a photo of Sanchez with vital information, relaying information from the NYPD that the girl appeared to be in imminent danger for severe bodily harm or death.
Grainy video footage that police obtained showed the young woman later identified as Sanchez being grabbed off of Eagle Avenue near 156th Street by two men at about 11:20 p.m. on Dec. 16. The men had emerged from a four-door sedan that pulled up alongside the mother and daughter.
Two other men were seen inside the vehicle where Sanchez was brought. The suspects also knocked her 36-year-old mother to the ground and then sped off on East 156th Street.
As of press time Tuesday night, the NYPD had not yet released specific information about where Sanchez were located, or disclosed if any arrests had been made.
