What to Know
- Video appeared to show a 16-year-old girl getting grabbed off a Bronx street Monday night in front of her mother
- The NYPD issued an Amber Alert, and the teen was found hours later
- Detectives were looking into the strong possibility the teen staged the kidnapping with help from her boyfriend, sources told NBC New York
Detectives are looking at the strong possibility the 16-year-old girl grabbed off a Bronx street right in front of her mother Monday night -- prompting authorities to issue an Amber Alert before she was eventually found -- staged her own kidnapping with her boyfriend's help, two sources close to the investigation tell News 4.
Sixteen-year-old Karol Sanchez and her mother, who are from Poughquag in Dutchess County, were in the city for a doctor's appointment earlier Monday. They were walking to a train station on Jackson Avenue around 11:30 p.m. when four men in a tan four-door sedan pulled up, according to law enforcement sources and police. Two men got out, pulled Sanchez in and drove off.
Her 36-year-old mother was pushed to the ground in the scuffle but she was not physically hurt, according to police. The suspect, described as men in their 20s, left her behind and she called 911. Dark surveillance footage shows the grab; two forms leap out of vehicle and grab another form off the street as rain appears to pour down. The car flees the scene with the girl.
The incident prompted authorities to issue an Amber Alert Tuesday. It was canceled hours later.
"We have a victory today! Karol has been found!!!" the NYPD's 40th Precinct said on Twitter in announcing that Karol Sanchez had been found.
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But some in the neighborhood were not calling this a victory after sources told NBC New York the teen may have staged the whole thing, saying it puts a "blemish" on an otherwise-quiet neighborhood.
Police are looking to speak with Sanchez's boyfriend about his possible role in the incident.
