The search for 9-year-old Charlotte Sena, gone missing while riding a bike at the campgrounds where her family was staying, is over and she is safe.
Governor Cathy Hochul said that while the rest of Charlotte’s family remained at the campground, police watching their home saw someone drop a note in their mailbox at 4:20 a.m. Monday. State police pulled fingerprints off the note and on the second one they got a match.
It was allegedly left by the suspect she identified as Craig Nelson Ross Jr., 47, who was in a database from a 1999 DWI case, Hochul said.
Law enforcement agents linked Ross to a property owned by his mother, made entry and found him in a camper at about 6:30 p.m., she said.
“After some resistance, the suspect was taken into custody and immediately the little girl was found in a cabinet,” Hochul said. “She knew she was being rescued. She knew that she was in safe hands.”
Charlotte was taken to a local hospital, as per protocol, Hochul said, adding that she appeared physically unharmed and that she and her family have been reunited.
No charges have been brought against Ross, but they are expected, Hochul said. Ross was still being questioned on Monday night, Hochul said.
It wasn’t immediately known if he had a lawyer to comment on his behalf.
