Kidnapper forced girl, 9, to write her own ransom note demanding $50,000
Kidnapped 9-year-old Charlotte Sena could have been forced to write her own ransom note, a source close to the investigation has revealed.
Craig Ross Jr, 46, was arrested at his trailer home after police identified a fingerprint left on the note. An agonising 34 hours had passed since Charlotte disappeared from an upstate New York campground when police got the break they needed to bring the girl home safely.
At 4.20 am Monday, a vehicle pulled up to the family’s home in upstate New York, a short drive away from the campground, and the driver exited in the darkness to place a ransom note asking for $50,000 in the mailbox. Law enforcement had been guarding the little girl’s home and watched the scene unfold.
The ransom note may have been written by the girl, reports the .
For all the latest news, politics, sports, and showbiz from the USA, go to.
Man in 30s dies after being stabbed in park sparking police probe
New York State police and crime scene investigators walk across the property (AP)Some 20 officers from a state police special operations unit and FBI SWAT team descended on Ross' camper, arresting the suspect and finding the girl in a cabinet. Ross was arrested while wearing nothing but his underwear. Then the girl emerged from the camper wrapped in a towel, escorted by police, one neighbour said. The raid came right about at the 48-hour mark of Charlotte’s disappearance, a critical time in the search for any missing child.
“As each hour went on, hope faded because we all know the stories,” Governor Kathy Hochul said after the rescue. “The first 24 hours, there’s hope. But when you hit 48 hours, hope starts to wane. When Charlotte disappeared in Moreau State Park, it was every parent’s worst nightmare.”
Charlotte Sena was found apparently unharmed (NY State Police)
The clothes Charlotte was wearing when she went missing (New York State Police)Ross resisted capture and suffered minor injuries, police said. Charlotte appeared physically unharmed.
“She knew she was being rescued. She knew that she was in safe hands,” Governor Hochul said. The family was immediately notified and reunited at the hospital where Charlotte was taken.
“We are thrilled that she is home and we understand that the outcome is not what every family gets,” the girl’s family said in a statement Tuesday, WRGB in Albany reported.
A massive search was launched (WRGB)Parents David and Trisha Sena had braced for another day combing Moreau Lake State Park in Ganesvoort for their middle daughter. Charlotte had pulled a grey bike helmet over her blonde hair and rode off on her bike Saturday afternoon, black Crocs on her feet and wearing an orange tie-dye Pokemon shirt. She was doing loops around a bike path with two friends around 6.15 pm. when she vanished while taking one last lap on her own.
Ross was arraigned overnight in town court in Milton, New York, on a charge of first-degree kidnapping. He was being held without bail at the Saratoga County Correctional Facility.
Ross was arraigned overnight in town court in Milton, New York, on a charge of first-degree kidnapping. He was being held without bail at the Saratoga County Correctional Facility.
Police said more charges are expected.
Read more similar news:
Comments:
comments powered by Disqus
