Family friend holds out hope after Charlotte Sena disappearance: 'she's coming back home'
Patrick Kane, a family friend of missing New York 9-year-old Charlotte Sena, reacts to her shocking disappearance in a typically peaceful state park.
MOREAU, N.Y. — Missing 9-year-old Charlotte Sena has been found after disappearing from Moreau Lake State Park in New York on Saturday, authorities say.
New York State Police announced that a suspect has been taken into custody over the incident on Monday night. Sena is currently safe and healthy, and was taken to a hospital for evaluation.
At around 4:20 a.m., state police saw a man drop something in the Sena family mailbox, according to Gov. Kathy Hochul. It was a ransom note.
Police began checking it for fingerprints. Their first person of interest wasn't a match. But then they found the right prints in a 1999 DWI arrest in Saratoga County. Hochul said investigators identified the suspect as 47-year-old Craig Nelson Ross Jr. 10 hours after state police watched him drop off the demand himself.
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In this undated photo, Charlotte Sena smiles for a photograph. Sena was reported missing this weekend after she failed to return from a bike ride while camping with her parents in Moreau Lake State Park. (Courtesy of the Sena Family )
State and federal tactical teams then stormed a camper behind his mother's double-wide trailer in Milton, just outside Saratoga Springs.
"Within the camper they located the suspect," Hochul said during an evening news briefing in Latham. "After some resistance, the suspect was taken into custody, and immediately the little girl was found in a cabinet, covered. She was rescued."
Gov. Kathy Hochul gives her remarks after Charlotte Sena, of Greenfield, NY, was on a family outing in Moreau Lake State Park when she went missing Saturday evening and was found safe this today and a suspect is in custody Monday, Oct. 2, 2023, in Latham, N.Y. (Hans Pennink for Fox News Digital )
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"We are just elated she came home," Jene Sena, Charlotte's aunt, told Fox News Digital Monday evening after the arrest.
Charlotte was taken to a local hospital, where she reunited with her family, Hochul said.
"After some resistance, the suspect was taken into custody, and immediately the little girl was found in a cabinet, covered.
New York State Police Colonel Michael Daddona, left, and Gov. Kathy Hochul gives her remarks after Charlotte Sena, of Greenfield, NY, was on a family outing in Moreau Lake State Park when she went missing Saturday evening and was found safe this today and a suspect is in custody Monday, Oct. 2, 2023, in Gansevoort, N.Y. (Hans Pennink for Fox News Digital )
"This stuff doesn't happen here," said Patrick Kane, a family friend who parked his car across from the park entrance Monday, hoping to hear good news.
Hours before authorities announced she'd been found alive, he vowed she would be.
This police handout photo shows Charlotte Sena in the clothing she was wearing when she went missing in Moreau Lake State Park on Saturday, September 30, 2023. (Police Handout )
"God's going to bring her back home," he told Fox News Digital. "I know that. I mean, it may not be today, and I don't know what kind of circumstances she's under right now, but I hopefully it's something that she can deal with the rest of her life because she's coming back home."
Hochul said she was "overjoyed" at the news of Sena being found safe.
A map depicting the search area for nine-year-old Charlotte Sena. Sena was reported missing this weekend after she failed to return from a bike ride while camping with her parents in Moreau Lake State Park. (NY Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation )
"Our hearts are with her family as they welcome her home," the governor's statement read. "Thank you to the New York State Police, New York Park Police and all who worked so tirelessly to find Charlotte. It is because of their efforts that Charlotte will be able to return home safe to her family."
Gov. Kathy Hochul with state investigators, who are searching for 9-year-old Charlotte Sena. (Gov. Kathy Hochul/X)
Before she was found, Sena was last seen biking on Loop A in Moreau Lake State Park at around 6:15 p.m. on Saturday. She was reported missing around 30 minutes later.
In this undated photo, Charlotte Sena smiles for a photograph. Sena was reported missing this weekend after she failed to return from a bike ride while camping with her parents in Moreau Lake State Park. (Courtesy of the Sena Family )
After she disappeared, an Amber Alert was sent out saying that she may have been taken "under circumstances that lead police to believe that they are in imminent danger of serious harm and/or death."
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During the search, officials described Sena as a kind, thoughtful 9-year-old girl who looked out for other children.
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In this undated photo, Charlotte Sena smiles for a photograph. Sena was reported missing this weekend after she failed to return from a bike ride while camping with her parents in Moreau Lake State Park. (Courtesy of the Sena Family )
"Charlotte is a bright and adventurous girl who loves to be outside," the state police's statement read. "Charlotte has a huge heart and wants to create a club at her school for kids who don’t have friends. She always put others first."
An Amber Alert is displayed along roadways throughout upstate New York on Monday, October 2, 2023. Nine-year-old Charlotte Sena was reported missing this weekend after she failed to return from a bike ride while camping with her parents in Moreau Lake State Park. (Chris Eberhart/Fox News Digital)
Authorities are actively investigating the situation. Anyone who may have relevant information is urged to call the New York State Police at 518-457-6811, dial 911 or email crimetip@troopers.ny.gov.
Governor Kathy Hochul provides an update on the search for a missing child in Gansevoort on Sunday, October 1, 2023. (Mike Groll/Office of Governor Kathy Hochul)
This is a developing story, check back with us for updates.
