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Girl, 16, Snatched Off Street as Mother Fought Kidnappers, Video Shows Bronx Girl Whose Kidnapping Was Caught on Video Found Unharmed
(about 3 hours later)
The grainy black and white video showed a nightmarish scene.The grainy black and white video showed a nightmarish scene.
A mother and her 16-year-old daughter were walking down a quiet street when out of nowhere a beige, four-door sedan stopped and two men forcibly dragged the teenager, Karol Sanchez, into the vehicle.A mother and her 16-year-old daughter were walking down a quiet street when out of nowhere a beige, four-door sedan stopped and two men forcibly dragged the teenager, Karol Sanchez, into the vehicle.
The kidnapping happened on Monday around 11:20 p.m. on Eagle Avenue, near East 156th Street in the Melrose section of the Bronx. For hours on Tuesday, the video of the kidnapping, which took place on Monday at around 11:20 p.m. in the Melrose section of the Bronx, captivated New Yorkers.
On Tuesday morning, the police released footage from a security camera near the scene and asked for the public’s help in solving the crime. Investigators have yet to determine a motive for the kidnapping. Then came a surprising update: The police said on Tuesday afternoon that they had found Ms. Sanchez, unharmed.
The details of what happened remained unclear, but the police said she was found on the same block where she had been abducted. On Tuesday afternoon, Ms. Sanchez was being questioned by officers from the 40th Precinct, according to the police.
Earlier on Tuesday morning, the police had released footage from a security camera near the scene and asked for the public’s help in solving the crime.
The police said the unsuspecting mother and her daughter were out for a stroll on Monday night when the sedan, occupied by four men clad in black, stopped in front of 745 Eagle Avenue. Two of the men, believed to be in their 20s, then got out of the vehicle and snatched the teenager.The police said the unsuspecting mother and her daughter were out for a stroll on Monday night when the sedan, occupied by four men clad in black, stopped in front of 745 Eagle Avenue. Two of the men, believed to be in their 20s, then got out of the vehicle and snatched the teenager.
When the mother tried to intervene, she was pushed to the ground, the police said. She was not seriously injured.When the mother tried to intervene, she was pushed to the ground, the police said. She was not seriously injured.
The sedan immediately fled east on East 156th Street, the police said.The sedan immediately fled east on East 156th Street, the police said.
Ms. Sanchez, who is 5 feet 5 inches tall and weighs about 150 pounds, was last seen wearing a dark blue short jacket, a white sweater, bluejeans and black sneakers, the police said. Ms. Sanchez, who is 5 feet 5 inches tall and weighs about 150 pounds, had last been seen wearing a dark blue short jacket, a white sweater, blue jeans and black sneakers, the police said.
A family friend, Destiny David, 20, said news of the kidnapping reverberated in the Sanchez family’s close-knit Honduran community. A family friend, Destiny David, 20, said news of the kidnapping had reverberated in the Sanchez family’s close-knit Honduran community.
“We all know each other,” Ms. David said over the phone. “We don’t know why they took her. We just want her to be found soon.”“We all know each other,” Ms. David said over the phone. “We don’t know why they took her. We just want her to be found soon.”
The details of the kidnapping were so shocking that the Police Department’s chief of patrol, Fausto Pichardo, asked the public for help identifying the men and locating Ms. Sanchez. “Have you seen Karol Sanchez?” Chief Pichardo wrote on Twitter. A police official said the family was contemplating a move to their native Honduras, but that Ms. Sanchez was adamant she wanted to remain in the United States. Investigators had been trying to determine if the potential move played a role in the kidnapping.
The police commissioner, Dermot Shea, also used Twitter to publicize the security camera video that captured the attack. The department is offering a reward of up to $2,500 for information about the kidnapping. Reached by phone, an aunt said Ms. Sanchez, who lives with her mother in Dutchess County, N.Y., was in town for an appointment. The aunt, Idalmy Martinez, 56, said the family was desperately looking for answers. Ms. Martinez added that Ms. Sanchez’s father has not been part of her life for years.
“She is a very happy, calm person,” Ms. Martinez said. “She’s always with her mother. They are very close. She is always around us, her family. We don’t know why they would take her.”
The details of the kidnapping were so shocking that the Police Department’s chief of patrol, Fausto Pichardo, had asked the public for help identifying the men and locating Ms. Sanchez. “Have you seen Karol Sanchez?” Chief Pichardo said on Twitter.
The police commissioner, Dermot Shea, also used Twitter to publicize the security camera video that captured the attack.
The police issued an Amber Alert on Tuesday.The police issued an Amber Alert on Tuesday.
Ms. Sanchez’s kidnapping rattled a city still grappling with the deadly stabbing of Tessa Majors, a Barnard College freshman. The attacks on the two young women come at a time when the city is experiencing record low crime rates not seen since the 1950s. Ms. Sanchez’s kidnapping comes just days after the deadly stabbing of Tessa Majors, a Barnard College freshman. The attacks on the two young women come at a time when the city is experiencing record low crime rates not seen since the 1950s.
In the Bronx neighborhood where Ms. Sanchez was taken, which is patrolled by the Police Department’s 40th Precinct, no murder or rape incidents have been reported in the last two years. But felony assaults increased from eight in 2018 to 13 so far this year, according to police data. Rates for violent crime have remained relatively steady this year in the Bronx neighborhood where Ms. Sanchez was taken, which is patrolled by the Police Department’s 40th Precinct. There have been 10 murders there so far this year, compared with eight last year. Felony assaults also increased slightly, to 683 from 679.
Ms. Majors was walking through Morningside Park in Manhattan last week when she was attacked by three people and stabbed her several times, the police said.Ms. Majors was walking through Morningside Park in Manhattan last week when she was attacked by three people and stabbed her several times, the police said.
Ms. Majors, who was originally from Virginia and played in a rock band, staggered up a flight of stairs, making it out of the park. A 13-year-old boy implicated himself in the attack last week and was expected to face charges on Tuesday. The police said at least two other teenagers may have taken part in the crime.
A campus security guard came across a severely wounded Ms. Majors sometime later. A 13-year-old boy implicated himself in the attack last week and was expected to face charges on Tuesday. The police said at least two other teenagers may have taken part in the crime. A man who works at a parking garage near where Ms. Sanchez was kidnapped said he gave additional surveillance video that captured part of the assault over to the police.
“I’ve never seen something like that before,” said the man who did not want to identify himself. “It shocked me, you know. I have kids. I can’t imagine that happening to my kids.”
Rebecca Liebson contributed reporting. Susan C. Beachy contributed research.