A man has been charged with kidnapping the 9-year-old child who went missing during a family camping trip over the weekend. After a two-day search, Charlotte Sena was located and appeared to be "safe and in good health," according to a news release from the New York State Police.
Craig N. Ross Jr., 46, was charged with kidnapping the child and additional charges are expected. The investigation is ongoing, but fingerprints on a ransom note left in the mailbox at Sena's family's house helped police identify and locate Ross.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul released a statement after Charlotte Sena was found. “We are overjoyed at the news that Charlotte Sena has been located safely this evening after an intense days-long search," Hochul said. "Our hearts are with her family as they welcome her home. 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."
During a news conference, Hochul explained that the ransom note left at the family's home at around 4:20 a.m. on Monday played a critical role in the search for Charlotte. “He literally drove up to the family’s mailbox assuming they were not home," she said. Though they were reportedly not home at the time, fingerprints on the note allowed them to identify Ross as the suspect.
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Police were able to match the fingerprints on the note with Ross because he was in the database due to a DWI from years ago. They were then able to locate Ross' mother's home, and he was parked behind it in a camper. The suspect was found in the camper. Charlotte was found hidden in a cabinet within the camper. “After some resistance, the suspect was taken into custody and immediately the little girl was found in a cabinet, covered and she was rescued,” Hochul explained. "She knew that she was being rescued. She knew that she was in safe hands.”
Hochul described what happened to Charlotte as "every parent's worse nightmare." Before being found, Charlotte was last seen at around 6:15 p.m. on Saturday, September 30, in Moreau Lake State Park in upstate New York. She was camping there with her family but around the time she was discovered to be missing, she had been riding her bike with friends. She wanted to ride her bike through a loop in the park one more time without her friends, but her bike was later found in the area and she was nowhere in sight.
“Charlotte has a huge heart and wants to create a club at her school for kids who don’t have friends. She always put others first," state police said during the search.
“[Charlotte] did a couple of loops with close friends she considers her cousins and then she decided after going around Loop A, she said she wanted to go around one more time by herself. Be that big girl, do it by herself,” Hochul explained. About 400 people were involved in the search for Charlotte. An Amber Alert was issued on Sunday morning.
“It was extraordinary to see how they traced it down to an individual’s home. The home was surrounded by law enforcement and helicopters, and they were able to bring her to safety. And not long after, she was in the arms of her parents at a hospital," Hochul told Anderson Cooper. The family is "thrilled" that Charlotte was found.
"We are thrilled that she is home and we understand that the outcome is not what every family gets," Jené Sena, Charlotte's aunt, said in a statement shared with NBC. "A huge thank you to the FBI, the New York State police, all of the multiple agencies that were mobilized, all of the families, friends, and hundreds of volunteers for assisting in her safe return."
On Instagram, a statement from Hochul noted, "Charlotte is safe and her abductor is behind bars tonight."
The governor added: "I promised Charlotte's parents we'd leave no stone unturned in our search. Now, because of the extraordinary work of law enforcement, Charlotte will be reunited with her family. Law enforcement teams were relentless in finding this little girl — putting the pieces together and leaving no cabin unturned — to bring Charlotte home to her parents."
