Site of girl’s kidnapping off-limits to public as police gather evidence
This is the area where police say the girl went missing.
Moreau Lake State Park remained closed on Wednesday. That’s the park where a 9-year-old girl was abducted this past weekend. It’s still considered an active crime scene.
The Schenectady Fire Department was one of the many law enforcement agencies assisting in the search. It’s not their jurisdiction. In fact, it’s about an hour away. However, the girl is the niece of one of their firefighters.
When the fire department learned the girl was related to one of their own, they knew they wanted to help, Fire Chief Don Moreno said.
They put together a team of 14 people – all volunteers – and they worked closely with the park rangers and searched through the wooded areas for the girl.
As firefighters, they’re always working to help people, but this was different because it was a family member of one of their own.
During those moments of uncertainty when they didn’t know where the girl was, emotions were high.
“Everybody’s elated today, so the feelings are positive,” said Moreno. “This ends one part of the nightmare for the Sena family. There’s a long road to go from here, and I guarantee you members of the Schenectady Fire Department will be with firefighter Pat Sena and his family.”