The 9-year-old girl who vanished from an upstate New York park was found hiding in the cabinet of a camper on Monday after the man accused of kidnapping her left a ransom note bearing his fingerprints at her parent’s home, officials said.
Charlotte Sena is “in good health” after she went missing during a bike ride while camping with her family at Moreau Lake State Park Saturday, NY State Police said.
The suspect, identified as 47-year-old Craig Ross Jr., allegedly left a note at Charlotte’s family’s home – possibly demanding some type of ransom in connection to her alleged abduction.
Gov. Kathy Hochul told CNN host Anderson Cooper Monday night that investigators were able to track down the suspect through fingerprints left on the ransom note.
“There was a ransom note and that was instrumental in leading us directly to the suspect,” Hochul said. “His fingerprint was already in the database.”
Volunteers search woodland near Moreau Lake State Park on Monday, October 2nd, 2023.Angus Mordant
State police confirmed that during the investigation, they identified an “individual” who was in the park around the time Sena went missing.
When investigators searched multiple homes tied to that person, they located Sena around 6:30