The 9-year-old girl who was abducted from an upstate New York park over the weekend was found safe inside the cupboard of a camper RV belonging to the suspect, who was caught after leaving a ransom note at the child’s home.
Charlotte Sena was rescued from the home of alleged abductor Craig Nelson Ross Jr., 47, putting an end to her nightmarish ordeal that began Saturday when she was taken from Moreau Lake State Park in Saratoga County, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Monday night.
Ross has been charged with first-degree kidnapping in connection to Charlotte’s disappearance.
“Charlotte will be going home,” said Hochul, visibly relieved at the “overwhelming” development.
The break in the case came early Monday when Ross reportedly dropped a ransom letter bearing fingerprints in the Sena family’s mailbox.
Investigators entered the prints into their database and they matched those of Ross Jr., who was arrested in Saratoga in 1999 on a DWI charge, according to Hochul.
“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 Monday night.
Charlotte Sena vanished during a bike ride while camping at New York’s Moreau Lake State Park. NY Post illustrationTwo law enforcement teams in helicopters then descended on a Ballston Spa address where the suspect kept his camper behind his mom’s house and arrested him “after some resistance” at about 6:30 p.m., Hochul said.
“Immediately the little girl was found in a cabinet cupboard,” the governor said. “She was rescued and she knew she was being rescued. She knew that she was in safe hands.”
The girl’s parents were notified that she was rescued and appeared to be “physically unharmed.”
Law enforcement search properties and woodland near Moreau Lake State Park. Angus Mordant
Gov. Kathy Hochul giving an update on the recovery of 9-year-old Charlotte Sena. Angus MordantCharlotte was transported to a local hospital, as is customary, Hochul said.
It’s unclear if Ross allegedly targeted Charlotte specifically or went after her at random when she was alone for a few minutes while riding her bike Saturday through Moreau Lake State Park, where she had been camping with her family.
The suspect lived just two miles from the child’s home, according to an address listed on his vehicle registration, the governor said.
Charlotte Sena was rescued from the home of suspect Craig Nelson Ross Jr. Jene Sena“But it is not known at this time whether he knew her or had her under surveillance for any length of time,” she added.
Hochul said she had met with Charlotte’s heartbroken parents, David and Trisha, before the girl was rescued.
“I said to them, I promise you this: We will bring Charlotte home to you,” she said. “And as each hour went on, hope faded. Because we all know the stories. First 24 hours, there’s hope; when you hit 48 hours, hope starts to wane.”
Police block the road near where a suspect was arrested in the abduction of 9-year-old Charlotte Sena. Angus Mordant“What happened next was extraordinary,” Hochul said of the breakthrough in the case Monday morning.
When her family first looked for Charlotte, they found only her bike on a trail in the park.
Police mobilized a 400-person search party composed of state troopers, special ops, forest rangers, park police and civilian volunteers.
“It was pretty overwhelming because all of us feared the worst, but I promised Trish and Dave that they would be reunited with Charlotte once again and she’d see her two sisters,” Hochul said.
“We’ll continue to keep this family in our prayers as they heal. But she’ll be going home,” she added. “That’s the story. Charlotte will be going home.”






