BELOW SUPERNAV drop zone ⇩

Suspect in Charlotte Sena abduction charged with kidnapping

  • Officials: Craig Nelson Ross Jr. was charged with first-degree kidnapping
  • Charlotte Sena went missing Saturday from Moreau Lake State Park
  • 9-year-old was found alive; a ransom note linked officials to the suspect

MAIN AREA TOP drop zone ⇩

MAIN AREA TOP drop zone ⇩

maylen

https://digital-stage.newsnationnow.com/

AUTO TEST CUSTOM HTML 20241114185800

AUTO TEST CUSTOM HTML 20241115200405

AUTO TEST CUSTOM HTML 20241118165728

AUTO TEST CUSTOM HTML 20241118184948

(NewsNation) — The suspect in connection with the abduction of a 9-year-old girl during a family camping trip in upstate New York has been charged.

Craig Nelson Ross Jr., 47, was charged with first-degree kidnapping, the Saratoga County Sheriff’s Office confirmed to NewsNation on Tuesday.  

He was held without bail, according to the Times Union.

Charlotte Sena went missing over the weekend while riding her bike early Saturday evening at Moreau Lake State Park, a heavily wooded area some 35 miles north of Albany.

She was found alive and safe Monday.

“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 Sena family said in a statement Tuesday.

Investigators were able to identify a fingerprint from a ransom note allegedly left by the suspect she identified as Ross Jr.

Craig Ross is charged with kidnapping in the disappearance of Charlotte Sena, 9. (Saratoga County, New York Sheriff’s Office)

The ransom note was left inside the mailbox of the Sena family home around 4 a.m. Monday, Gov. Kathy Hochul said. A fingerprint on the ransom note matched Ross, who was in a database from a 1999 DUI case.

Police tracked  Ross to a double-wide trailer owned by his mother. They made entry into the camper around 6:30 p.m. and arrested Ross, who they said put up “some resistance” and suffered some minor injuries.

Sena was found safe inside the camper, which is about two miles from the Sena home, Hochul said.

Officials issued an Amber Alert on Sunday after an exhaustive search because, “It was quite possible that an abduction had taken place,” state police Lt. Colonel Richard Mazzone said at the time. About 400 search and rescue personnel actively searched a 46-linear mile area around the state park.

Crime

Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed

 

MAIN AREA MIDDLE drop zone ⇩

Trending on NewsNation

AUTO TEST CUSTOM HTML 20241119133138

MAIN AREA BOTTOM drop zone ⇩

tt

KC Chiefs parade shooting: 1 dead, 21 shot including 9 kids | Morning in America

Witness of Chiefs parade shooting describes suspect | Banfield

Kansas City Chiefs parade shooting: Mom of 2 dead, over 20 shot | Banfield

WWE star Ashley Massaro 'threatened' by board to keep quiet about alleged rape: Friend | Banfield

Friend of WWE star: Ashley Massaro 'spent hours' sobbing after alleged rape | Banfield

Fair

la

69°F Fair Feels like 69°
Wind
7 mph SW
Humidity
26%
Sunrise
Sunset

Tonight

A few passing clouds. Low 47F. Winds light and variable.
47°F A few passing clouds. Low 47F. Winds light and variable.
Wind
2 mph NNE
Precip
10%
Sunset
Moon Phase
Waning Gibbous