MOREAU — Nine-year-old Charlotte Sena was found alive Monday evening and a suspect in her abduction was arrested after police tracked him to a camper trailer at a property in Milton, according to State Police.
Law enforcement sources had told the Times Union that the suspect, 46-year-old Craig N. Ross Jr., allegedly left a ransom note at Charlotte’s parents’ house before dawn on Monday — and that fingerprints on that note helped lead to his arrest. Gov. Kathy Hochul confirmed that information late Monday night, saying at a news conference with State Police that Ross had dropped a ransom note in the mailbox at the family’s residence around 4:20 a.m. Monday.
Editor’s note: Why we’re no longer using kidnap victim’s name, photo
State troopers recovered the note after Ross left the area. At about 2 p.m. on Monday, a fingerprint on the note was matched to fingerprints from Ross’ arrest in Saratoga Springs in 1999 for driving while intoxicated.
The governor said there is no indication yet that Ross had any connection to the girl’s family.
Police raided a number of locations tied to Ross late Monday afternoon, including the mobile home on Barrett Road where his mother lives and the adjacent trailer where Charlotte Sena was found. That residence — off Middleline Road — is about 13 miles south of where Charlotte Sena lives with her family in Porter Corners, near Corinth.
The governor said a vehicle registration for Ross also listed an address that was a short distance from the residence of Sena’s family.
State Police said that Ross suffered minor injuries when he struggled as he was arrested by a State Police Special Operations Response Team at the Barrett Road residence on Monday evening. An FBI SWAT team assisted in the apprehension and rescue.
The State Police said Charlotte Sena was “in good health.” A source said the girl was taken via ambulance to Albany Medical Center Hospital.
A few hours before notice of the girl’s recovery, a large contingent of State Police had gathered in a parking lot at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center off Route 50.
Roughly 20 unmarked State Police vehicles, military-style tactical vehicles and at least one helicopter were there, along with troopers dressed in camouflage who appeared to be SWAT team members. State Police blocked off Barrett Road on Monday evening and prevented motorists from entering the residential street after they raided the property and rescued the girl.
Hochul earlier issued a statement saying she was “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.”
The arrest was made less than three hours after State Police said their ongoing search had expanded over 46 linear miles. Approximately 400 certified search and rescue personnel from dozens of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, as well as fire departments, were actively searching for Charlotte after she vanished Saturday evening at the Moreau Lake State Park, where she had been camping with her family and friends.
On Saturday, Charlotte and her family were staying at campsite 18 on Loop A, the site closest to the entrance of the park on Old Saratoga Road and about a mile from Exit 17 on the Northway. She had been riding her bicycle on a small loop road dotted with campsites and had asked for permission to ride around the road one last time by herself when she vanished. Her family and friends searched frantically for her before calling 911 around 6:45 p.m. that evening.
State Police sources on Monday told the Times Union that the investigation was focused on the theory that her abduction may have been the result of someone deliberately targeting the girl or her family.
An Amber Alert sent around 9:35 a.m. Sunday said “the child was taken under circumstances that lead police to believe that they are in imminent danger of serious harm and/or death.”
Jenny-Lee Smith, the wife of union pipefitter John Smith, who works with Charlotte’s father, David Sena, stopped in a Dunkin’ Donuts less than five minutes from the park entrance just before 2 p.m. Monday and taped a sign to the window — one of 2,000 missing-person flyers printed by the union.
She said a friend traveling back to the area from Connecticut said she had seen signs on the highway but their usefulness was minimal without identifying information. “She saw signs all the way up here,” Smith said. “But no one knows what they’re looking for.”
State Police had indefinitely closed Moreau Lake State Park during the investigation and the Federal Aviation Administration had temporarily restricted the airspace over the park to protect aircraft involved with the search.
Patrick Kane, who runs a home remodeling business in Saratoga Springs and has worked with Charlotte’s father and is close with the family, was outside the park Monday morning. He said the last two days had been harrowing for the family. “This family is hurting,” Kane said. “You can’t imagine what the last 36 hours have been like for them. It’s devastating.”
Charlotte’s disappearance had garnered nationwide attention, as media Monday crowded the stretch of rural road at the park’s entrance to cover a case that crushed this Saratoga County community.
Local businesses gave generously to support the search effort. Sorrentino’s Delicatessen & Market and Giavano’s Pizza in South Glens Falls gave pizzas and subs to workers combing the wilderness, according to the Local 773 Facebook page. Hannaford and Dollar General also donated food, water and ice.
The union emerged as a key group organizing mutual aid.
The search for Charlotte had also led to an outpouring of spiritual support. A vigil for Charlotte was held on the sandy shore of the Hudson River behind the Corinth Free Library Sunday night. Clergy members spoke and children attended — including classmates of Charlotte and her older sister.
“We love you Charlotte” was written in the sand, with candles forming a heart with a “C” in the middle.
Steve Hughes and Rachel Silberstein contributed reporting for this story.
Note: An earlier version of this story misidentified an unnamed suspect.
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