2 Teens Missing for Nearly a Year Found Alive in Upstate New York

Police: A "family acquaintance" has been charged with second-degree kidnapping.

ByABC News
March 10, 2016, 9:27 PM

— -- Two teenage girls from upstate New York who had been missing for nearly a year were found Wednesday night, New York State Police said Thursday.

Sisters Ky-Lea Fortner and Shaeleen Fitch-Fortner were reported missing on April 27, 2015, when they were ages 15 and 13, respectively. At the time, the girls were living with their foster family in the town of Binghamton.

Police said that Amanda Hellman, 29, of Vestal, N.Y. -- located less than 10 miles west of Binghamton -- was charged Thursday with second degree kidnapping. Police said Hellman is "a family acquaintance of the victims."

Hellman was arraigned and held at Broome County Jail without bail. She has pled not guilty.

During the course of the New York State Police's 11-month investigation, the department said it "received and investigated numerous investigative leads relative to the girl’s location."

It was not immediately clear if Hellman had an attorney.