UPDATE: The New Iberia Police Department says that missing 10-year-old girl has been found safe.
Sergeant Daesha Hughes confirmed the information with KATC on Monday morning.
According to Hughes, the girl was found in St. Martin Parish and was evaluated by medical personnel.
The suspect, 33-year-old Michael Sereal of New Iberia, has been arrested.
Following the abduction, an arrest warrant was issued for Sereal for Aggravated Kidnapping.
Two men working their trash route this morning spotted the car in which police say a 10-year-old girl was kidnapped last night.
See video of when officers arrived on scene: DRAMATIC VIDEO: Workers on trash route spot alleged kidnapper's car
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An Amber Alert was issued overnight for a 10-year-old girl from New Iberia. She is believed to be in imminent danger.
State Police say that she was last seen in the 400 block of Fulton Street in New Iberia on Sunday, February 7.
She is described as being a 4-foot-6-inch tall, black female, weighing 75 pounds. She was wearing a red hoodie and blue jean shorts.
At the time she was last seen, troopers say she was getting into a gray 2012 Nissan Altima.
The driver, and suspect, is identified as 33-year-old Michael R. Sereal of New Iberia. State Police say he is an acquaintance of one of the girl's family members. He is also listed on the parish's sex offender database and was convicted in 2016 of carnal knowledge of a juvenile.
The New Iberia Police Department has issued an arrest warrant for Sereal for Aggravated Kidnapping in connection with the abduction of ten-year-old.
Sereal is described as a black male 5' 9" tall, weighing 224 pounds. He was last seen driving a 2012 Nissan Altima bearing license plate N472845.
Anyone with information as to their whereabouts should immediately contact the New Iberia Police Department at 337-369-2306 or call 911.
A Level II Endangered/ Missing Child Advisory was initially issued on Sunday night before being upgraded to an Amber Alert.
State Police said that the information first received on the incident was "too general" for an Amber Alert to be issued.
See that full statement from State Police:
"The criteria to trigger an Amber Alert is very specific information about abductor and or the vehicle, such as license plate. The information given to the local police department was too general.
The general premise behind the Amber alert system was to locate a specific vehicle with a specific license plate or specific abductor, not just an alert for every gray car. With the specific license plate, the general public could see the car and give police the exact location as opposed to reporting on every gray car seen."
More information about Amber Alerts can be found at www.lsp.org
