A suspect has been arrested in connection to the disappearance of a Boston woman who was found alive Tuesday.
Twenty-three-year-old Olivia Ambrose was found alive at a housing project in the city's Charlestown neighborhood. She had last been seen leaving a bar Saturday night.
Hours after officials confirmed Ambrose had been found, police announced the arrest of 38-year-old Victor Pena of Charlestown. He is charged with kidnapping, but police say additional charges may follow pending an interview with Ambrose and further investigation.
"She's very strong," Heather Ambrose, Olivia's mother, told NBC10 Boston after returning with her daughter to the family home in Wenham, Massachusetts. "It's going to be a process, but she's OK."
Earlier Tuesday, investigators released two surveillance images of a person of interest wanted in connection with Ambrose's disappearance in addition to a timeline of when she had been last seen in a bar on Union Street and when she was last caught on surveillance video in Charlestown hours before she was found alive.
"Through various camera systems in and around Congress Street, we were able to ascertain that the victim was seen walking on Congress Street, where she was later engaged by two males," Boston Police Commissioner William Gross said.
One of those men was identified as Pena. Gross said surveillance footage showed him "physically guiding and holding onto" Ambrose.
"It's obvious from the video surveillance that she did not go along willingly," Gross said.
Investigators found Ambrose alive in Pena's apartment, Gross said. She was taken to an area hospital, where she was evaluated before going home with her parents.
"Completely terrifying," Heather Ambrose said of the ordeal. "You sort of go into a numbness, and you sort of just get through what you have to get through, but we're through it, and we're grateful, and we know that many times, the outcome isn't this."
"We've all been so worried," said Abbey Wells, who works with Ambrose's sister. "When they broke the news to us that she'd been found and that she was alive, we all broke down crying, hugging. It's just such a relief, I can't even put into words."
Wells delivered food to Ambrose's family Tuesday evening in Wenham.
"It sounds awful, but I hadn't even considered that she would be OK," said Wells. "It was just to the point where, like, you've seen so many crime dramas, and you just are like, 'Gone this long, there's no way.' But it's a miracle. Really, honestly a miracle."
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She's not the only one who thought there could be a tragic outcome.
"I think we all had that in the back of our minds and are very happy that it has this ending," said a neighbor of the Ambrose family.
"The Ambrose family is so grateful for the monumental efforts of the Boston Police Department and the MBTA and Transit police who have worked tirelessly over the last three days to bring Olivia home," a spokesperson for the family said in a statement. "The Ambrose family is also so appreciative of all the efforts, prayers and good wishes of their friends, family and complete strangers who have helped in the efforts to find Olivia."
Police and her family said Ambrose was at Hennessy's near Faneuil Hall with her twin sister and friends when she was seen leaving the bar on Saturday.
Pena is due to be arraigned Wednesday in Charlestown District Court. It was not immediately clear if he had an attorney.
