A suspect is now behind bars in a county jail in connection to the kidnapping of nine-year-old Charlotte Sena from a campsite in upstate New York.
Craig Nelson Ross Jr, 47, was arrested on Monday evening and charged with first-degree kidnapping in a chilling case that was described as “every parent’s worst nightmare”.
The terrifying ordeal unfolded began on Saturday evening when Charlotte was riding her bike in Moreau Lake State Park in Saratoga County, during a family camping trip.
When she failed to return – and her bike was found abandoned – her parents raised the alarm.
What followed next was 48 hours of growing fears for her safety as law enforcement feared she was in “imminent danger”.
On Monday evening – almost exactly two days on from her disappearance – the young girl was found alive in Mr Ross Jr’s campervan, officials said.
Charlotte Senna disappeared from a campsite in upstate New York— (National Center for Missing & Exploited Children)
Here’s a timeline of the chilling case so far:
Saturday 30 September
6.15pm
Charlotte set off on a bike ride with some close friends around the campsite shortly after 6pm.
The nine-year-old then decided to do another solo bike around Loop A of Moreau Lake State Park.
“She said she just wanted to go around one more time by herself – be that big girl, do it by herself,” said New York Governor Kathy Hochul on Sunday.
But Charlotte never returned. Her family and friends then went looking for her and found her bike abandoned in the same area she had set off on her bike ride.
6.45pm
At around 6.45pm, the fourth-grader’s distraught mother called 911 to report her daughter missing.
Police were on site by 7pm on Saturday, Ms Hochul said on Sunday.
Sunday 1 October
Officers issued an Amber Alert for the girl’s disappearance on Sunday morning, saying it was “quite possible” an abduction had taken place.
New York State Police said during a press conference on Sunday that authorities waited to send the alert because they first needed to exhaust all search efforts within the park.
The search included an estimated 400 search and rescue personnel, including New York Department of Environmental Conservation Forest Rangers, New York State Police, the FBI, and 34 volunteer fire departments.
Moreau Lake State Park was temporarily closed.
Meanwhile, members of the public were asked to steer clear of the campsite and leave searching “to the professionals”.
Saratoga County Sheriff’s Office released mug shot of Craig Nelson Ross Jr— (Saratoga County Sheriff’s Office)
At a press conference, the governor pleaded with the public for help locating the missing child.
“We are leaving no stone, no branch, no table, no cabin unturned, untouched, unexamined in our search to find Charlotte,” she said. “If you know anything, if you’ve seen anything, if you hear anything, please contact 911 to tell us what you know.”
“They camped, they cooked out and they’re here to make memories, the kind that lasts a lifetime,” she added..“But instead, the day turned into every parent’s nightmare.”
Monday 2 October
4.20am
At around 4.20am ET on Monday morning, the suspect drove to the home of Charlotte’s parents and left a ransom note.
“He literally drove up to the family’s mailbox assuming they were not home,” Ms Hochul said on Monday night, adding that Charlotte’s parents were still searching the campground at the time, and officers who were monitoring the property had been sent to another call in the area.
Police later tested the note for fingerprints and searched law enforcement databases to see if they could find a match.
In the afternoon, the prints came back as a match to 47-year-old Craig Nelson Ross Jr.
6.32pm
After the prints came back a match, law enforcement tracked the suspect down to the campervan where he lived behind his mother’s home.
Ms Hochul said that officers made a “dynamic entry” into the campervan and found the suspect inside.
Mr Ross Jr was taken into custody “after some resistance” and little Charlotte was then found hidden and covered inside a cabinet.
Missing poster for Charlotte Sena— (NYSP)
“She knew that she was being rescued. She knew that she was in safe hands,” the governor said.
Charlotte outwardly seemed to be unharmed but was taken to hospital as a precautionary measure, the governor said.
Her parents were notified that she was found safe at 6.32pm – almost exactly 48 hours after she was reported missing – and the family was reunited on Monday evening.
Tuesday 3 October
Craig Nelson Ross Jr was charged with first-degree kidnapping in the early hours of Tuesday morning.
He is being held without bail.
A GoFundMe page launched to help Charlotte’s family had topped $18,000.
“Please donate to help the family during this difficult time,” a message posted on the fundraiser page reads. “Any donations will go directly to her parents to help with any expenses while they transition back into some sense of normalcy.”
