Missing girl, 9, found thanks to kidnapper’s fingerprint on ransom note
A nine-year-old girl abducted during a family camping trip in upstate New York was found “safe and in good health” Monday night after investigators lifted a fingerprint from a ransom note dropped off at the family’s home, police said.
Charlotte Sena’s disappearance kick-started a massive two-day search involving more than 400 forest rangers, police officers, firefighters and FBI agents. She was eventually found hiding in a cupboard in an RV where her alleged abductor, Craig Nelson Ross Jr., 47, was residing, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said during a press conference.
Sena went missing Saturday evening after riding her bike with family friends at Moreau Lake State Park. The nine-year-old decided to do one more loop around the trail on her own and was last seen biking away around 6:15 p.m.
When Sena didn’t return to the campsite, her family went searching for her. They found her bike abandoned on the trail around 6:45 p.m. and called police.
Drones, bloodhounds and an airboat were deployed to look for the missing nine-year-old. On Sunday morning, an Amber Alert was issued because police believed Sena may have been abducted.
***AMBER ALERT – UPDATE***
THE AMBER ALERT has been cancelled. Charlotte has been found safe and in good health. pic.twitter.com/p8HyFB7zbP
— NewYorkStatePolice (@nyspolice) <a href=«https://twitter.com/nyspolice/status/1708981069519700174?ref_src=» https:>October 2, 2023
The key moment in the investigation came when a ransom note was deposited in the mailbox of Sena’s family’s home in the nearby town of Greenfield.
Sena’s family wasn’t home because they were still searching for their daughter in Moreau Lake State Park, but police who were monitoring their home saw someone drop off the note at around
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