A New York teen has been found safe and sound after dramatic surveillance footage captured the moment she was forcibly dragged into a car in front of her mother, prompting the NYPD to issue an Amber Alert, CBS New York reported.
However, the joyous reunion has since been tarnished by news that the girl apparently staged her own kidnapping in an effort to escape her "overprotective" mother.
Grainy footage released by the NYPD 40th precinct shows a beige-colored four-door sedan pulling up to the pair on the sidewalk with four male individuals inside. Two of the men then exited the car, grabbed 16-year-old Sanchez, and pulled her back into the vehicle with them before the speeding away.
The teen's mom was pushed to the ground by one of the men while struggling to fight them off.
The area was flooded with missing persons posters and Sanchez's face popped up in various news outlets all across the surrounding area as word spread of her terrifying abduction.
Witnesses told CBS New York that the teen's mother was rightfully distressed following the kidnapping.
"She was just screaming ‘My daughter, my daughter, my God someone please help me,'" one witness recalled. "She was screaming hysterically. And I was looking, wondering what was going on. She was just screaming in the street."
Witnesses of the seemingly miraculous scene were stunned.
“We was at the pole over there, looking at her picture, and we walked up the block, she was crossing the street to to the the cop car, and I was like ‘Yo, that’s her right there,'” one bystander told CBS New York.
Another added, "She was shaken up. She was bending over, grabbing her knees, and discussing with the police. And that’s when they took her into the parking garage for questioning."
However, CBS New York has since reported the the teen has confessed to investigating officers that she staged her entire chilling abduction in an effort to escape from her "overprotective" mother.
The New York Times reported that the family had been contemplating a move to Honduras but that Sanchez was adamant on staying in the U.S., implying a possible motive for the fake kidnapping.
Police say they want to interview everyone involved before deciding who, if any, will be charged.
h/t: CBS New York, New York Times
