Relieved family of The family of Charlotte Sena, 9, who went missing and was reportedly abducted by Craig Ross Jr., have released statement of relief after she was found safe. Details about her parents explored.
Charlotte Sena disappeared Saturday night while riding a bike by herself at a Moreau Lake State Park.
She had been camping with her family and was last seen around 6:15 p.m., state police said.
Initially, she was biking around a park loop with family friends, then did a loop by herself, and failed to turn up. Her bike was found on the loop, authorities said.
An Amber Alert was activated Sunday, and over 400 certified search and rescue personnel searched for her Monday.
Her family have released statement of relief after she was found alive, healthy and unharmed. Let’s meet her parents.
Who are Charlotte Sena’s parents?
Charlotte Sena was born between 2013 and 2014 to father David Sena and mother Trisha Sena.
Does Charlotte Sena has any siblings? Per images of Charlotte’s family, she is the oldest of her parents’ kids as she has two younger sisters.
When a search was launced, Charlotte’s parents were scrambling to locate their daughter after she went missing on Saturday evening. “I just want my daughter back,” she told the Albany Times Union, adding that little Charlotte is “trusting.”
The family of Charlotte Sena, shared a message of relief as a suspect was arraigned on a kidnapping charge.
“We are thrilled that she is home and we understand that the outcome is not what every family gets,” Jené Sena, Charlotte’s aunt, said in a statement.
“A huge thank you to the FBI, the New York State police, all of the multiple agencies that were mobilized, all of the families, friends, and hundreds of volunteers for assisting in her safe return,” she added.
The family of Charlotte Sena has started a GoFundMe to help with expenses during a “difficult time” in the wake of her alleged kidnapping and subsequent rescue.
The fundraiser was started by Charlotte’s aunt, Jene Luciani Sena, who wrote that the funds will go straight to the 9-year-old girl’s parents “while they transition back into some sense of normalcy.”
The GoFundMe has already raised more than $20,000 in less than a day.
Who is Charlotte Sena and what happened to her?
Charlotte Sena is a 9-year-old girl who went missing on September 30, 2023, while she was on a camping trip in New York.
Sena was on a trip with her family in Moreau Lake State Park – around 35 miles from Albany – when she disappeared on Saturday.
She was out biking with friends around dinner time, and after completing one bike loop by herself, she never returned to her family campsite, officials said.
Her parents became alarmed when the fourth-grader failed to come back after 15 minutes.
The girl’s disappearance sparked a frantic search probe, leading to over 400 people becoming involved including state and local cops, forest rangers, and volunteers.
After tracing the suspect from a previous arrest, cops moved in on the address where Criag Nelson Ross Jr was believed to reside.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul said the suspect was found living in a camper behind the home.
Moments later, Sena was discovered.
“The little girl was found in a cabinet, covered,” Hochul said. “She knew that she was being rescued. She knew that she was in safe hands.”
Once Sena was found, she appeared “outwardly physically unharmed” and was taken to a hospital for an examination, according to Hochul.
Hochul branded the kidnapping “every parent’s worst nightmare” and said the incident appeared to be “very random.”
According to Hochul, her parents were immediately notified that she was found at 6.32pm EST.
Where is Craig Nelson Ross Jr. now?
Craig Ross Jr. is a 47-year-old man from Ballston Spa in Saratoga County, New York.
He gained fame after he was arrested after troopers stormed his camper – two days after Sena disappeared.
The suspect was snared by cops after a ransom note was allegedly found in Charlotte’s parents’ mailbox.
Police were reportedly able to match the prints with a DWI arrest from 1999, leading them to an address where the suspect was living.
The suspect, Craig Nelson Ross Jr., 46, was arraigned overnight on a charge of first-degree kidnapping in Milton Town Court and was remanded into Saratoga County jail without bail, per The Times Union.
Additional charges are likely, state police said.
His next court date is set for Oct. 17.