NEWS

Teen charged after Amber Alert, search

Victoria E. Freile & Meaghan McDermott
Staff writers

A Greece teen whose disappearance on Monday sparked an Amber Alert wasn't actually abducted, police say.

But the alert system worked to help police quickly locate 16-year-old Cassidy N. Geffert, unharmed and alone in the Brockport area, said Greece police Sgt. Jared René.

Later Monday, Geffert was charged with fourth-degree grand larceny for the alleged theft of a handgun. René said in a news release that her arrest is "directly related to her involvement in today's incident at her home." Further information about the charge was not immediately available.

About 1:30 p.m., New York State Police issued an alarming Amber Alert throughout much of western New York, saying that Cassidy had been taken from a residence on Talnuck Drive and that a bloodied note left behind for her family indicated the teen was in danger.

According to the alert, the house was left in disarray, with a knife on the floor. A handgun and a black four-door sedan also were missing from the home.

But René on Monday afternoon downplayed the significance of the note and condition of the scene. He said investigators initiating the Amber Alert hadn't realized that their observations would be included in the notifications. He said he could not confirm the accuracy of any of the details.

The alert was issued based on information officers had at the time, he said. "If later on down the road, we find our information was not accurate, we still have to at first err to the side of safety and caution, and our priority was locating her and finding out what was going on," he said.

René said Cassidy was reported missing by a family member around 11:30 a.m. and was found thanks to a tip received by Monroe County sheriff's deputies.

Police on Monday afternoon swarmed around the Econo Lodge on 4th Section Road near Brockport, where the black Saab noted in the Amber Alert was parked. Officers escorted a teenage girl in a white dress to the vehicle, where she grabbed her purse and other items, then was handcuffed, placed into a Monroe County sheriff's car and driven away.

As part of their investigation, Greece police closed Talnuck Drive in Greece, a residential road just west of Flynn Road. Crime scene tape surrounded a two-story house.

Greece police continue to investigate the incident. It remained unclear whether the teen ran away from home or left for another reason.

Includes reporting by staff writer Gary McLendon

VFREILE@DemocratandChronicle.com

Twitter.com/vfreile

MCDERMOT@DemocratandChronicle.com

twitter.com/meagmc

Amber Alert notification

Did your cellphone shriek Monday afternoon? You weren't alone. An Amber Alert was issued for a missing 16-year-old girl in what looked like a text message. It wasn't a text, but was sent to people within a specific geographic region. The message stems from a partnership between the Federal Communications Commission, Federal Emergency Management Agency and the wireless industry. The Wireless Emergency Alerts system enables government officials, including State Police, to use cell towers to send information quickly about imminent threats to safety or life, alerts issued by the president and Amber Alerts.