Police: Bronx Teen Found Safe After Alleged Kidnapping

The teenager who was allegedly kidnapped Monday from the Bronx, New York, was found safe Tuesday, according to police.

The New York Police Department (NYPD) tweeted an update to the Amber Alert regarding the kidnapping of 16-year-old Karol Sanchez.

UPDATE: Karol Sanchez has been found. Thank you to everyone who called with information. #KarolSanchez

— NYPD NEWS (@NYPDnews) December 17, 2019

The initial incident occurred Monday around 11:30 p.m. as Sanchez was walking with her mother in the 700 block of Eagle Avenue in the Melrose section of the Bronx.

Surveillance video showed a beige four-door sedan pull up alongside the women as two men approached and proceeded to drag Sanchez into the vehicle, where two more suspects were inside.

Her mother tried to fight back, but was reportedly pushed to the ground as the men took Sanchez and drove east on Eagle Avenue.

At the time of the alleged crime, investigators said the teenager did not know the men.

Witness Damon Doughty said he heard “screeching tires” when the incident occurred, according to the New York Daily News.

He continued:

I went to the window and when I got there there were three people in a car and the guy in the backseat was kicking the mom out of the back seat. Then they grabbed the daughter back into the car because it looked like she tried to get away. Then the car sped off. She (the victim’s mother) ran and she was screaming. She was just screaming and yelling.

Sanchez’s mother was not hurt, but was understandably hysterical after the suspects drove away with her daughter.

Journalist Kemberly Richardson tweeted a video of the teenager after she was reunited with her family.

She’s alive! Karol Sanchez was just dropped at a park near where she was kidnapped last night, then the 16 yr old walked up street where police were posted. She was reunited w her family. No details on what happened, she appears to be ok, emotional reunion! @abc7ny #abc7ny pic.twitter.com/NusfkJlFV2

— Kemberly Richardson (@kemrichardson7) December 17, 2019

Tuesday, the teenager reportedly walked up to her relatives’ apartment in the Bronx and later met with police. There are no details yet as to why the suspects abducted her.

However, 70-year-old resident, Mildred Watson, said she plans to take drastic measures to protect herself.

“I am frightened and worried. They tell us to walk in couples but being in couples doesn’t help nowadays, not even being in groups,” she told reporters. “I’m getting my gun license back. It’s time to leave New York.”