By Melanie Lekocevic
Capital Region Independent Media
LATHAM — The suspect arrested in the disappearance of 9-year-old Charlotte Sena has been charged with kidnapping, according to state police.
Craig Nelson Ross Jr., 46, of Ballston Spa, was charged Tuesday with first-degree kidnapping, an A-1 felony.
He was processed at the state police barracks in Latham and arraigned at Milton Town Court. Ross was remanded to the Saratoga County Correctional Facility without bail.
Ross was arrested after police found a fingerprint on a ransom note that was put into the mailbox of Charlotte’s home. The little girl went missing Saturday night from her family’s campsite at Moreau Lake State Park, while she was bicycling on a loop at the park.
An intense search was made of the park for two days.
The case broke early Monday morning when a vehicle was seen by police driving up to the Senas’ home at 4:20 a.m. A ransom note was left in the mailbox, along with a fingerprint that was traced to Ross and a 1999 DWI arrest in Saratoga.
Law enforcement, including SWAT teams, arrested Ross at a camper where he lives, located behind a doublewide mobile home owned by his mother.
Charlotte was found inside a cabinet in the camper. She was taken to Albany Medical Center. At a press conference late Monday, Gov. Kathy Hochul declined to elaborate on the girl’s medical condition, but said she appeared to be physically unharmed.
Hochul said it was not yet known whether there is any connection between Ross and the Sena family. Ross is not a registered sex offender, according to police.
Hochul also declined to reveal what was in the ransom note.
