Missing 9-Year-Old Charlotte Sena: Found Alive!

Charlotte Sena has been found alive and in good health, and the suspect is in custody.

The Intense search for 9-year-old Charlotte began on Saturday evening when she didn’t return from a bike ride while camping with her family at Moreau State Park. Her disappearance sparked an around-the-clock search, which involved hundreds of personnel – including the FBI.

An invaluable break in the case came early Monday morning when a ransom note was dropped in the mailbox at the home of the missing girl. This ultimately led to authorities finding Charlotte and arresting the suspect. 

Fingerprints on the note identified Craig Nelson Ross Jr., 47. Law enforcement tracked him to his residence just two miles from the Sena family home, and arrested him on Monday evening. They immediately found Charlotte hidden in a cabinet. The girl appeared to be “Outwardly physically unharmed” and was taken to a hospital to be examined. 

Around 4:20 AM, on Monday morning, the suspect drove to the Sena family home and placed the ransom note in their mailbox. State Police discovered the note, and were able to recover fingerprints from the document and run them through law enforcement databases. The match came at 2:30 PM, identifying the fingerprints as belonging to Ross, whose fingerprint was entered into the database in 1999. 

Investigators believed that Ross was living in a residence behind his mother’s home, and two state and federal SWAT teams descended upon the residence and arrested Ross around 6:30 PM.

In addition to fingerprints, investigators also analyzed cell phone pings and park records, which contained information about visitors who paid an entrance fee to register to camp overnight. Charges have not been brought yet, but they are fully expected.