Charlotte Sena, 9-year-old girl abducted from NY park, was found safe inside cabinet of suspect’s camper
By Allie Griffin
Published Oct. 3, 2023, 12:34 a.m. ET
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.
Two 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.”
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https://nypost.com/2023/10/03/charlotte-sena-9-year-old-girl-abducted-from-ny-park-was-found-safe-inside-cabinet-of-suspects-camper/
