A 9-year-old girl who went missing while riding her bike on a family camping trip has been located safe and sound. Charlotte Sena disappeared on September 30, with New York State Police launching a widespread search to bring the child home safely. Thankfully, they got a big break then the 47-year-old man who kidnapped her left his fingerprints on a ransom note he put in the mailbox of the family home, ABC News reports. This led authorities straight to Craig Ross Jr. — and to young Charlotte.
- The big break came in the early hours of Monday morning. During a news conference held on Monday, October 2, New York Governor Kathy Hochul said that around 4:20 a.m. that morning, a car pulled up to the mailbox at Charlotte Sena’s family home and left a ransom note. At the time, Charlotte’s parents were still at the campsite where she’d gone missing.
- State police had been watching the Sena home and saw the suspect pull up. They immediately grabbed the note, found a fingerprint, and ran it through the system. Lucky for them, they had a match by 2:30 p.m. the same day — Craig Ross Jr. had a previous arrest for DWI in 1999 and was in the system.
- Authorities were soon led to a double-wide house belonging to Ross’s mother lived. Ross lived in a camper behind the main residence, and that’s where they found Charlotte hiding in a cabinet. For all intents and purposes, she appeared physically unharmed but was taken to a local hospital for examination. “She knew that she was being rescued. She knew that she was in safe hands,” Hochul said.
- Craig Ross Jr. resisted arrest. However, authorities eventually subdued him and took him into custody, with Hochul noting that they “fully expect” to bring charges against him.
- Charlotte Sena’s family issued a statement thanking everyone for working together to bring Charlotte home. “We are thrilled that she is home and we understand that the outcome is not what every family gets. A huge thank you to the FBI, the New York State Police, all of the agencies that were mobilized all of the families, friends, volunteers,” the statement read.
#CharlotteSena | #TrueCrimeWithLegacy
Charlotte family celebrating that their daughter has been found alive. 🦋
It’s a good day y’all.
— 𝕏 🕵🏻♀️🦋L̤̮E̤̮G̤̮🅰️C̤̮Y̤̮🦋🕵🏻♀️ 𝕏 (@iamlegacy23) October 2, 2023
