UPDATE: New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said on CNN that fingerprints left on a ransom note aided in the successful conclusion of the girl's mysterious disappearance over the weekend. Read more here.
A 9-year-old girl reported missing in New York has been found in good health, state police said Monday evening.
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People in western Massachusetts had been urged to keep an eye out for the young girl after an Amber Alert was issued for her out of Gansevoort, New York, north of Albany, Sunday morning. The region affected by the alert stretched into western Massachusetts and southwestern Vermont.
New York State Police later said the child had been found safe, adding that a suspect is in custody.
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State police said investigators searched multiple homes in the area of Moreau Lake State Park where the suspect is known to live. During this search, police found the girl around 6:30 p.m.
"We just want her returned safely like any parent would," the girl's family said earlier in a statement pleading for help in finding her. "No tip is too small, please call if you know anything at all."
Massachusetts State Police have no information suggesting that the child may have been taken into the state, where there was no active search on Monday, but police in western Massachusetts were familiar with the case and monitoring for the girl, spokesman Dave Procopio said, urging people in the area to be aware of the case and keep an eye out for her as well.
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Procopio noted that western Massachusetts residents are close enough to the Albany area that they may have received the Amber Alert about the girl, as MassLive reported some did.
The child had been riding her bike around a loop in the bucolic park with other children when she decided to ride around one more time by herself. Her parents became alarmed when she failed to return after 15 minutes, Gov. Kathy Hochul said at a briefing Sunday.
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Her mother called 911 after her bicycle was found at around 6:45 p.m. Saturday.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
