Nanny charged after 3-year-old girl returned to Tribeca home

NEW YORK (WABC) -- A nanny has been charged after she disappeared for 15 hours Tuesday with a 3-year-old girl.

Gabriella Russo was last seen with her 59-year-old nanny, Fatima Alexander, Tuesday morning at 9:15. Alexander returned the girl to her River Terrace apartment building in Battery Park City at around 12:20 a.m. Wednesday.

Alexander, of Brooklyn, was taken into custody and has been charged with kidnapping, endangering the welfare of a child and unlawful imprisonment.

The child was taken to New York Downtown Hospital for evaluation.

Detectives were interviewing Alexander to see where the child was for 15 hours.

When they didn't show up for school, Gabriella's family knew something was wrong.

"I saw her leave here on camera," said her aunt Rebecca Russo. "You see it on the news and it's happening..just bring her home."

The family told police Alexander worked with them for a decade and had no known medical problems.

The nanny was supposed to bring Gabriella to daycare at Preschool of America at 25 Market Place.

At noon, the school called her parents saying that their daughter never made it.

Police came to the 9th floor apartment in the luxury high-rise and discovered Alexander had left her cell phone behind.

Officers starting looking for the pair.

Then out of nowhere, Alexander surfaced with Gabriella, bringing the little girl back home to her worried family.

Police believe the nanny was riding around on mass transit with Gabriella.

"She just said she wanted to take the child for a walk," said NYPD Chief of Detectives Robert Boyce. its a little strange. she was going around the city, to central park, riding the subways with the child