UPDATED 12/17/19 5:45 p.m. ET: Karol Sanchez admitted to staging her own kidnapping, CBS2 reports. According to the New York Daily News, Sanchez staged it as a way to "to get away from her strict mom."
A police source told the outlet that once they realized what a huge story the kidnapping had become, they panicked. "Once they realized what they did, with the amber alert on their phones, it was like, ‘Oh, s--t, we got a problem,'" the source said. It's unclear if Sanchez or her alleged kidnappers will be charged.
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UPDATED 12/17/19 2:46 p.m. ET: Karol Sanchez has been found safe, ABC7NY reports. She was reportedly "dropped at a park" close to where she was kidnapped last night, before being reunited with her family on Tuesday. There are still no details of what happened between the time she was kidnapped and today's reappearance. Watch a clip from the emotional reunion below.
See original story below.
Authorities are searching for a 16-year-old girl after video showed her being dragged into a vehicle by several men while she was walking with her mother in New York City on Monday night. Police are investigating the incident as a possible kidnapping, according to NBC New York.
Karol Sanchez and her mother were walking in the Melrose area of the Bronx, on Eagle Avenue near East 156th Street at 11:20 p.m. when they were approached by a tan-colored four door sedan. Two unidentified men got out of the car, dragged the girl into the vehicle, and drove off, authorities said.
The men shoved Sanchez's mother to the ground, but she was uninjured and did not want to receive medical attention. NYPD said they do not know if Sanchez knew the men in the vehicle.
Sanchez stands at about 5 feet, 5 inches tall and weighs about 150 lbs., according to PIX 11. She was last seen "wearing a short, dark-blue bubble jacket, a white undershirt or sweater underneath, blue jeans, black sneakers and a white backpack," police told the news outlet.
An amber alert has been issued as of Tuesday morning. "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.
Anyone with information can reach out to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS.
