SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — Police have located a missing 11-year-old girl who was abducted from Springfield on Wednesday afternoon, prompting an Amber Alert from Massachusetts State Police.
One person was arrested in connection to the girl’s disappearance. The suspect was in the car that the child was found in on the Mass. Pike near the Auburn/Sturbridge area. Police identified that suspect as Miguel Rodriguez, 24, of Springfield.
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Police said 11-year-old Charlotte Moccia was walking home from Hampden Charter School and was seen being forced into a car at 1:26 p.m. near Princeton and Amherst streets.
A preliminary investigation suggests that Charlotte was forced into a dark blue Honda Civic that was driven by the suspect.
One neighbor witnessed the abduction and called 911.
“I came out and I heard the kid hollering for help,” said Julius Kenney, a neighbor. “By the time I got down to get the plate number, all I saw was an individual bent over, throwing her in the back, shut the door and the car took off. I was trying to get the plate number but I couldn’t get it, they took off that fast. The windows were tinted so you couldn’t see who was who.”
Mass. State Police described Moccia as a white, 4-foot-2, 60-pound girl with long brown hair. She may have been wearing a white jacket with khaki pants and a dark-colored shirt adorned with the Hampden Charter School logo. Police say she also may have been in possession of a school-issued laptop at the time.