An 11-month-old baby kidnapped in upstate New York and later found alive in a shed at a sprawling electrical plant campus has since died at the hospital, law enforcement announced.
The Schenectady Police Department at about 10 a.m. Sunday activated an Amber Alert for Halo Branton, saying the 23-pound girl was last seen at 12th Street at Campbell Ave. at approximately 9:15 p.m. on Saturday wearing white sweatpants with brown and tan flowers, a long sleeve, light pint shirt with a butterfly design and with a Minnie Mouse blanket.
The girl had been reported missing from a home in the city’s Bellevue neighborhood at approximately 11 p.m. Saturday, Schenectady police officer Ryan Macherone later said at a press conference, according to the New York Daily News. Officers responded to the residence and began searching for the 11-month-old.
The baby was described as a Black child, with black hair and hazel eyes and more than two-feet-eight-inches tall.
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The Amber Alert for Halo Branton was canceled Sunday. (Schenectady Police Department/Facebook)
Sources reportedly told the Albany Times Union that the baby was found in a shed on the massive General Electric campus in Schenectady.
After the child was located, the department canceled the Amber Alert and said Branton was found “safe and in good health.”
Schenectady Police later updated the post to provide information on where Halo was found, and to say they did “not have an update” on her medical condition.
At the press conference, Macherone said that first responders had immediately rushed the girl to the hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
Cars on Edison Ave. drive past the General Electric plant on Tuesday, Nov. 9, 2021 in Schenectady, N.Y. A missing infant was found on the campus Sunday. ( Lori Van Buren/Albany Times Union via Getty Images)
What began as a missing persons case has since transitioned into a criminal investigation, Macherone said.
As of Sunday evening, no one had been arrested in connection to the case, but investigators were “interviewing multiple people,” he added.
“We asked for the public’s assistance, and we have received it,” he said.
The Schenectady Police Department asked those that live in the area of Campbell Avenue to check any Ring Doorbell cameras or any outside surveillance for a female, possibly wearing black pants and black sneakers, walking in the area with a baby under a blanket after 9:00 p.m. on Saturday. Police shared a QR code where the public could upload any related footage.
The exterior of General Electric seen on Friday, July 20, 2018, in Schenectady, N.Y. An abducted baby girl, Halo Branton, was found on the property Sunday. (Lori Van Buren/Albany Times Union via Getty Images)
Overnight Saturday and Sunday morning, the department said Schenectady police were joined by personnel from the New York State Police, Schenectady County Sheriff’s Department, Albany County Sheriff’s Department, New York State Forret Rangers, New York State Fire, General Electric Security, and the Schenectady Fire Department in the search efforts.
