Charlotte Sena's 'abductor' is charged with first-degree kidnapping

Charlotte Sena kidnapping suspect Craig Ross Jr, 46, is charged – as it’s revealed cops MISSED the chance to arrest him when he dropped off ransom note at her house because they were sent on another call

• Craig Ross Jr, 46, was arrested yesterday at his mother’s trailer in Milton, NY 
• His DNA was found on the ransom note dropped into Charlotte’s parents’ mailbox on Monday morning
• Charlotte was found safe in a cabinet inside the trailer and has now been reunited with her family  

The suspect accused of snatching nine-year-old girl Charlotte Sena from a camp ground in Upstate New York has been charged with first-degree kidnapping. 

Craig Ross Jr, 46, was arraigned on a first-degree kidnapping charge in the early hours of this morning at Wilton Town Court and is being held without bail. 

He was arrested at his mother’s house on Monday night, where Charlotte was found in a cabinet inside the trailer he’d been living in his mother Joan’s backyard. 

Police were led to him because he left his fingerprints on a ransom note delivered to Charlotte’s parents’ house earlier on Monday morning.  

State Police had been watching the family home, but were sent to another call at 4.20am on Monday morning, the moment Ross Jr. dropped off the note. 

His DNA was already on file from a 1996 DUI arrest.  Charlotte, who was snatched on Saturday night while riding her bike at the Moreau Lake State Park, was found unharmed. She has since been reunited with her family. 

Craig Ross Jr, 46, was arraigned on a first-degree kidnapping charge in the early hours of this morning at Wilton Town Court and is being held without bail

Charlotte Sena was found ‘alive and safe’ on Monday – two days after she was snatched from Moreau Lake State Park in Gansevoort. She was taken to Albany Medical Center Hospital after being found

Charlotte was found inside the white trailer in the backyard of Craig Ross Jr.’s mother’s home in Milton, New York, on Monday evening 

On Monday at around 4am, someone dropped a ransom note into the mailbox at Charlotte’s parents’ house (shown). It contained traces of Ross Jr’s DNA

Two SWAT teams – one state and one federal – swooped on the property in helicopters, with Ross said to have put up a struggle. 

No mugshot has been released and there is no indication that Ross knew his victim’s family. 

Ross Jr. drove up to Sena’s parents’ home at 4.20am Monday and left a ransom note inside their mailbox which was covered in his DNA and fingerprints. 

At 2.30pm Monday, investigators finally found a match in the database and linked the fingerprints to a DWI arrest made in Saratoga County in the 1999. From there, they swooped on Ross Jr’s camper van, arrested him, and found the missing girl.  

Cops confirmed Ross Jr is not a registered sex offender, but did not reveal a motive. Earlier reports suggested the suspect taken into custody was a 51 year-old local pedophile who was not named, although that was corrected when the alleged abductor’s real identity came to light. 

Charlotte (far right) as a younger child with her mother Trisha, father David and sisters

Charlotte Sena was last seen cycling around Loop A in the Moreau Lake State Park in upstate New York near Saratoga Springs

Charlotte was taken to Albany Medical Center Hospital after being found. She is said to be in good physical health. 

Investigators are believed to be focused on the theory that Charlotte was pulled into a vehicle against her will or dragged into the woods. 

Police said just after 7pm: ‘Charlotte has been found safe and in good health.’ 

New York State Police were previously confident Charlotte was abducted from Moreau Lake State Park. She was last seen wearing a tie-dye Pokemon shirt, dark blue pants, black crocs, gray bike helmet on Saturday evening. 

The girl was found about 13 miles south of her family home. 

The multi-agency search – which spanned 46 miles and included 400 search personnel and dozens of federal, state, and local bodies on the ground – ended today. 

Charlotte was cycling alone on Loop A of Moreau Lake State Park in New York near Saratoga Springs when she vanished at 6.15pm on Saturday. 

She had been playing with friends throughout the day but decided to cycle alone, one last time, before the sun went down. 

It should have only taken a few minutes for to complete the small loop. At 6.30pm, her parents realized she hadn’t returned and grew worried. By 6.47pm, they had found Charlotte’s bike on the loop and called 911. 

A frantic search was launched for the child, for whom an Amber Alert was issued on Sunday morning after rangers searched the 6,250-acre park and found no sign of her. 

Charlotte’s relieved family held an impromptu press conference and thanked people for their help

Police found little Charlotte covered up and hidden in a cabinet on Monday 

There are 158 camping sites in the park. Loop A sits in the southwest corner of the park and is directly adjacent to US Highway 9 – which runs all the way from Philadelphia to Canada. 

New York Gov. Hochul said on Monday night: ‘We are overjoyed at the news that Charlotte Sena has been located safely this evening after an intense days-long search. 

‘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.’

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