A SUSPECT in the abduction of a nine-year-old girl has been snared by cops after allegedly leaving a ransom note in her parents’ mailbox.
Craig Ross Jr., 47, was arrested on Monday after troopers stormed his camper two days after Charlotte Sena vanished.
9-year-old Charlotte Sena has been located and is in good healthAP
CBSCraig Nelson Ross Jr., 47, has been arrested in connection to Charlotte Sena’s disappearance[/caption]
State of New YorkGov Hochul said that charges have not been brought yet, but they are “fully expected”[/caption]
Sena was found hidden in a cabinet on the property moments later, Governor Kathy Hochul confirmed at a press conference on Monday night.
The little girl had been riding her bike at Moreau Lake State Park in Saratoga County, 48 minutes north of Albany, the capital of New York, when she disappeared on Saturday.
The search to find her lasted 48 hours – but “what happened next,” Hochul said, was “extraordinary.”
Hochul told reporters the case started to break at 4:20am on Monday, after a man in a car pulled up to a mailbox in front of the Sena’s family home that was being guarded by police.
“He drove up to the family’s mail box assuming they were not at home,” Hochul explained.
“(He) opens the mailbox, enters the ransom note, leaving a critical piece of information behind – the ransom note.”
State police urgently worked to find a match for a fingerprint to identify any other prints in the New York state database that would be a match.
They were able to match the prints with a DWI arrest arrest that led them to an address where the suspect was living.
Hochul said Ross Jr. was found living in a camper behind the home.
Moments later, they discovered Sena.
“The little girl was found in a cabinet covered. She knew that she was being rescued. She knew that she was in safe hands,” Hochul said.
“Her parents were immediately notified at 6.32pm.”
After some resistance, Ross Jr, who cops have confirmed is not a registered sex offender, was detained and brought into custody.
Charges have not been brought yet, but they are “fully expected,” according to Hochul.
The Governor thanked first responders and the the community effort that brought Charlotte back.
“Tonight our prayers have been answered,” she said.
Sena’s family was staying in the Southeast corner of the park, in a campground area known as Loop A.
She was biking with other children at the campsite on Saturday night, before deciding to take one more trip around the loop alone.
Her parents, David and Trisha Sena, went looking for her just 15 minutes later, at around 6.15pm, but she was nowhere to be found, leaving her bike behind.
Speaking before the school-aged girl was found, New York Governor Kathy Hochul said her parents, “knew immediately something was up,” when Charlotte didn’t come home.
“They called her name. People started searching, people from other campgrounds joined,” the governor added.
“And 30 minutes later, at 6:47, Charlotte’s mother, Trisha, called 911.”
“The scene was chaotic with people leaving their tables, and everyone joining the search and calling the name Charlotte,” Hochul said.
Authorities immediately began searching for the girl, leading over 400 people including state and local police, forest rangers, local volunteer firefighters, and private search and rescue groups to come together.
New York State Police sent out an Amber Alert on Sunday as they suspected Charlotte was likely abducted.
The Governor called the kidnapping “every parent’s worst nightmare,” before thanking all involved with search and rescue.
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