14) (Update: 19 Year Old Tiffany Van Alstyne Charged and Arrested in Boys Death)

ARREST MADE IN CASE OF MURDERED 5 YEAR OLD KENNETH WHITE …

On Thursday, December 18, 2014 the Albany County Sheriff’s Office activated the New York State AMBER Alert for missing 5 year old Kenneth White and began investigating the child’s abduction that occurred on Thatcher Park Road, in Berne, New York, at about 1:20 p.m. According to initial accounts, Kenneth White was being watched by the 19-year-old daughter of his legal guardians when the two men entered the house, pinned the woman to the floor and took the child.

Two suspects forced entry into a home and abducted a 5-year-old boy, police said.

They fled the scene in an unknown make, 2-door black pickup truck with an unknown license plate. The truck was last seen traveling on Thatcher Park Road, police said.

The child is identified as Kenneth White. He is described as a white male with short, brown hair and brown eyes. He is approximately 3 feet 5 inches and weighs about 45 pounds.

Kenneth was last seen wearing jeans and a checkered white short-sleeve shirt.

The suspect is described as a white male, approximately 5 feet 10 inches tall. The suspect was last seen wearing black clothing, including a ski mask, black boots and black gloves.

There was a second suspect, unknown race, wearing similar clothing.

Anyone with any information on this abduction is asked to call the Albany County Sheriff’s Office at 866-NYS-AMBER or dial 911 to provide information on a report or sighting.

UPDATE I: AMBER ALERT canceled after 5 year old Kenneth White found dead.

The Amber Alert for Kenneth White, the 5-year-old boy abducted from his Albany-area home Thursday afternoon, has been cancelled after the boy was found dead, state police announced.

The Amber Alert was canceled at 11:46 p.m. Thursday. A police K-9 unit found White’s body near the trailer he was abducted from, WNYT in Albany reported.

Apple told the Times Union that authorities have a “person of interest” in White’s death. His death is being considered a homicide, CBS 6 in Albany reported.

UPDATE II: Arrest made in the death of 5 year old Kenneth White.

An arrest has been made in the death of 5 year old Kenneth White; however, it is not who or what was initially expected. It turns out the initial account by the 19 year old babysitter was a hoax. Tiffany Van Alstyne, the boys cousin, has been charged with second degree murder. She was arraigned today and plead not guilty. She is being held without bail.

Tiffany Van Alstyne

Authorities have arrested a 19-year-old woman in connection with the death of a 5-year-old boy who police say was falsely reported to have been abducted from a home in upstate New York.

Tiffany Van Alstyne is charged in the death of Kenneth White, who authorities say was strangled and also suffered blunt force trauma to the head, reports CBS affiliate WRGB. The accused is a cousin of the victim. VanAlstyne’s parents have been the legal guardians of Kenneth, his twin sister and a 4-year-old sister since September.

Babysitter’s Story of Masked Intruders Unravels as She’s Charged in Strangulation Death of 5-Year-old.

Police began to question Van Alstyne – the daughter of Kenneth’s legal guardians. As cops interviewed Van Alstyne, they say her story began to fall apart. “Reports of the masked men and the black truck, those are false,” Albany County Sheriff Craig Apple told reporters on Friday morning. “We caught some contradictions in two different statements that were taken, so a few flags had popped. It’s a horrific case. We lost a 5-year-old child, a senseless death, who left behind a twin sister and a 4-year-old sister.”

Police believe that Van Alstyne killed White in the house and dumped him outside. “He was basically thrown away like a piece of trash,” said Sheriff Apple. “It is sinful and it is sad.”

On Friday, police charged Van Alstyne with second-degree murder as her mother, Brenda Van Alstyne, looked on. During the arraignment, Brenda Van Alstyne said that her daughter suffers from bi-polar disorder, The Times Union reported. Tiffany Van Alstyne pleaded not guilty and was sent to the county jail with no bond.