New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced Monday night that 9-year-old Charlotte Sena, who had been kidnapped from Moreau Lake State Park in Saratoga County on Saturday, has been found safe and the suspect in her disappearance has been arrested and charged.
“We are overjoyed at the news that Charlotte Sena has been located safely this evening after an intense days-long search. Our hearts are with her family as they welcome her home,” she said. “Thank you to the New York State Police, New York Park Police and all who worked so tirelessly to find Charlotte. It is because of their efforts that Charlotte will be able to return home safe to her family.”
Charlotte's alleged abductor, Craig Nelson Ross Jr., 47, was captured after leaving a ransom note at the home of the victim’s family; fingerprints that the suspect left on the note were fed into a police database, which returned a match for Ross in connection with a 1999 DWI arrest.
“He literally drove up to the family’s mailbox, assuming they were not home at 4:20 in the morning, opens the mailbox and inserts the ransom note leaving the critical piece of evidence behind...his own fingerprint,” Hochul said at a press conference.
Soon after ascertaining his identity, a SWAT team tracked Ross down and took him into custody, with the suspect reportedly resisting arrest at the time. Charlotte herself was discovered alive and “physically unharmed,” being held inside the cupboard of Ross' RV camper that was parked in the backyard of his mother’s house.
“Immediately the little girl was found in a cabinet cupboard,” Hochul said. “She was rescued and she knew she was being rescued. She knew that she was in safe hands.”
Charlotte reportedly was kidnapped while she was alone riding her bike on Saturday through Moreau Lake State Park; she had been there on a camping trip with her family. When her parents, David and Trisha, went looking for their missing daughter, all they found was her abandoned bike on a trail.
The authorities were notified, and soon a 400-person search party began combing the park and its surrounding areas.
It is currently unknown if Ross – who reportedly lived just two miles from the victim’s home – had specifically targeted Charlotte, or if the alleged abduction was random.
Ross now faces charges of first-degree kidnapping, with state police saying more charges are likely.