Authorities have identified the 47-year-old man accused of abducting 9-year-old Charlotte Sena from a park in upstate New York and keeping her captive in the cabinet of a trailer he was living in adjacent to his mother’s house.
Officials at the Saratoga County Correctional Facility have confirmed that Craig N. Ross Jr. is being detained there without bail on a charge of first-degree kidnapping on Tuesday morning.
According to the New York State Police, Charlotte was kidnapped on Saturday night at Moreau Lake State Park in Saratoga County, New York. On Saturday evening at suppertime, while riding her bike alone in the campground, she vanished, according to Kathy Hochul, the governor of New York.
Other campers and the girl’s family went in search of her. Around 6:45 p.m. on Saturday, Charlotte’s mother discovered her bicycle and dialed 911, according to authorities. A massive search involving up to 400 local, state, and federal law enforcement officers and firefighters was carried out at the expansive park Saturday night after an Amber Alert was issued for the missing child.
The huge break in the three-day hunt for the missing girl, according to Hochul, came early Monday morning, possibly from the suspect himself, he claimed at a news conference on Monday night. According to Hochul, a ransom letter was put in the mailbox of the Sena family’s house around 4:20 a.m. by a car that had just pulled up to the house.
“He literally drove up to the family’s mailbox at 4:20 in the morning, assuming they weren’t home, opened the mailbox, and inserted the ransom note, leaving a crucial piece of evidence — his own fingerprint — behind,” Hochul said.
According to Hochul, state police had been keeping watch over the house while Trisha and David Sena, Charlotte’s parents, were still camped out.
The governor said that the delivery of the ransom note “happened very quickly” and that troopers from the state police were unable to halt the car. But they could tell what kind of car it was, she continued.
Researchers used technology and sleuthing to identify a fingerprint on the ransom note and connect it to Ross’s 1999 DWI arrest in Saratoga, New York.
According to Hochal, a vehicle with Ross’s registration led police to the suspect’s mother’s double-wide in Ballston Spa, New York. Ross was discovered to be residing in a camper behind the house by the investigators.
State Police Col. Richard Allen said that an FBI Regional SWAT team and members of the State Police Special Operations Response Team had gathered close to the Ballston Spa residence.
About 20 SPOR and FBI SWAT team members, according to Allen, conducted a “dynamic entry” into the camper behind the house and apprehended Ross.
Allen stated that Ross “did present our SWAT personnel with some resistance in there.” He did sustain a few fairly minor wounds.
The governor claimed that Charlotte was quickly found in a cabinet. The fourth-grader was discovered to be in “good health,” according to the authorities.
She was conscious of being saved. She was conscious of her safety,” Hochul stated.
She’ll be returning home, Hochul continued. That is the tale. Charlotte is leaving for home.
At 6:32 PM ET, authorities alerted her parents.
It is unknown at this moment whether Ross knew Charlotte or had her under surveillance for any period of time, according to Hochul, who stated that the house where Ross was detained is roughly two miles from the Sena residence.
“While we are happy that she is back home, we acknowledge that not every family will have the same experience. The Sena family released a statement in which they expressed their gratitude to the FBI, the New York State Police, all the agencies that were involved, as well as relatives, friends, and volunteers.
Ross has been charged with first-degree kidnapping, a class A-1 felony.
After being detained, Ross was questioned at the Latham, New York, barracks of the New York State Police before being charged before the Milton Town Court. No information about the suspect’s interrogation was made public.
Ross was chosen to represent the public. His subsequent court appearance is set for October 17.
According to officials, more charges are anticipated.
Hochul claimed that more search warrants were being used and that the investigation was still ongoing.
“We want to confirm that Ross is unrelated to any other incidents. There is currently no evidence of such, which is why the investigation is still ongoing, Hochul stated.