The man accused of kidnapping 9-year-old Charlotte Sena and keeping her in a cupboard in his camper has officially been charged in her disappearance and ordered held without bond as authorities investigate whether he may have been involved in other child abduction cases.
Craig Ross Jr., 47, was charged with kidnapping at an arraignment at the Milton Town Court at around 3 a.m. on Tuesday, according to WNYT.
He was taken to the Saratoga County Jail, where he is being held without bond as cops continue to probe if he may be involved in any other disappearances.
Police will spend the day 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 of 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.
It remains unclear if Ross allegedly targeted Charlotte specifically or went after her at random when she was alone for a few minutes while riding her bike through Moreau Lake State Park, where she had been camping with her family on Saturday.
The suspect lived just two miles from the child’s home, according to an address listed on his vehicle registration, Gov. Kathy Hochul said at a news conference Monday night.
She said the big break in the case came early 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 Ross Jr., who was arrested in Saratoga in 1999 on a DWI charge, according to Hochul.
“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,” Hochul said.
Two law enforcement teams in helicopters then descended upon 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.
Following the news, Charlotte’s aunt thanked the state police and local law enforcement for their efforts.
“Thank you God and the FBI, NYSP, all the multiple agencies, friends, family, volunteers, community members, who worked tirelessly to bring Charlotte home!!!!!!! GOD IS GOOD,” Jene Sena wrote.
She had earlier shared a GoFundMe to raise money for the family as the search efforts continued.
As of Tuesday morning, it had earned more than $17,000 as funds continued to come in to support the family during the difficult time.