2 teens missing nearly a year found alive; mother and 'family acquaintance' charged

Credit: New York State Police

VESTAL, N.Y. --Police say they've arrested the mother of two teenage sisters who were reported as runaways last year in upstate New York. Police say the girls were actually abducted by a family acquaintance.

New York State Police say the mother, 36-year-old Cindy Fortner, was arrested on a kidnapping charge Friday. They haven't detailed the allegations against her.

Her daughters, 15-year-old Ky-Lea Fortner and 13-year-old Shaeleen Fitch-Fortner, were found Wednesday night in Vestal.

Authorities say the sisters had been living with a foster family in Binghamton in April 2015 when they were reported as runaways.

Investigators allege 29-year-old Amanda Hellman abducted them on their way to school and held them against their will. She's pleaded not guilty to kidnapping charges. It wasn't immediately clear if she had an attorney who could comment.

The girls went missing on April 27, 2015, when they never returned home after school. The girls were last seen waiting for the school bus, police said.

At the time of their disappearance, the girls were living with their foster family.

Credit: New York State Police

On Wednesday night, police found the girls less than 10 miles from their home.

Hellman was charged on Thursday with second-degree kidnapping in connection with their disappearance. Officials described Hellman as a family “acquaintance."

“The girls are healthy today,” Broome County District Attorney Steve Cornwell told the paper. “The allegation is they were kept in the defendant’s house without their consent.”

“During the course of the next 11 months, Hellman, who is not related to either child, conducted numerous acts to prevent law enforcement from returning the two children to their foster parents," police said in the complaint, according to the paper.

Hellman is being held without bond at the Broome County Jail. She pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Authorities have not released any information on the motive behind the alleged abduction or any details on the girls’ captivity.

The girls are now in the custody of Child Protective Services.