The family of 9-year-old Charlotte Sena, who was found hiding in a cabinet of a camper belonging to the man accused of kidnapping her has spoken out for the first time since she was located, saying they are grateful that they were able to bring her home safe.
“We are thrilled that she is home, and we understand that the outcome is not what every family gets,” the Sena family said in a statement to CBS 6.
“A huge thank you to the FBI, the New York State police, all of the agencies that were mobilized, all of the families, friends, community, neighbors and hundreds of volunteers who supported us and worked tirelessly to bring Charlotte home.”
The young girl was located Monday night, following a two-day search of the area surrounding Moreau Lake State Park — where Charlotte had been camping with her family.
She decided to ride her bike through the picnicking field of the upstate New York park, but never returned.
Her bike was found a short while later, and a 100-person search party comprising state troopers, special ops, forest rangers, park police and civilian volunteers soon converged at the scene.
The big break came Monday morning, when Ross reportedly dropped a ransom letter bearing fingerprints in the Sena family’s mailbox.
Investigators entered the prints into their database and matched them to Craig Ross Jr., 47, who was previously arrested in Saratoga in 1999 on a DWI charge, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced at a news conference Monday night.
“He literally drove up to the family’s mailbox, assuming they were not home [at] 4:20 in the morning, opens the mailbox and inserts the ransom note leaving the critical piece of evidence behind — his own fingerprint,” the governor said.
Two law enforcement teams in helicopters then descended on a Ballston Spa address where the suspect kept his camper behind his mom’s house and arrested him “after some resistance” at about 6:30 p.m., Hochul said.
“Immediately the little girl was found in a cabinet cupboard,” the governor said. “She was rescued and she knew she was being rescued. She knew that she was in safe hands.”
The girl’s parents were notified that she was rescued and appeared to be “physically unharmed,” but was still brought to a local hospital as a precaution.
She is now doing “very, very well,” family friend Patrick Cane said.
“If you met her parents, you’re gonna say she’ll be just fine,” Cane claimed on “Fox and Friends” Tuesday morning, adding: “Her parents are why she is the way she is.
“Her father, who I know quite well, is eternally optimistic — he’s a fun guy,” Cane noted.
“There’s going to be some healing, of course, but it’s a wonderful story for a wonderful family,” he said.
Meanwhile, police are expected to continue questioning Ross to see if he had been stalking Charlotte, if he is a pedophile or if he is simply a criminal who was trying to make money off her ransom, Newsweek reports.
They will also speak with his family and friends about his whereabouts and his character, while simultaneously comparing his DNA against a database of child abduction cases as he remains behind bars without bail.