Mistake Criag Ross made 24 years ago that tied him to Charlotte Sena snatching

05 October 2023 , 01:57

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Charlotte Sena's kidnapper was captured because of fingerprints, which were in the system as a result of a 1999 bust (Image: New York State Police)

A single error made by Craig Nelson Ross, Jr., 24 years ago allowed the authorities to crack the case in the kidnapping of Charlotte Sena and bring the young girl back home — alive and well, but traumatised.

The 9-year-old girl went missing on Saturday, September 30, after she decided to ride her bike alone around Loop A at Moreau Lake State Park, hoping to prove to her family and friends that she was "a big girl," Governor Kathy Hochul said in a press conference shortly after her disappearance.

But when the girl didn't return after about 15 minutes — the loop takes only a few to cycle around, a spokesperson for the New York State Police said during another press conference — her family began to worry and went out looking for the girl. She had left at 6:15pm. At 6:45pm, they found her bike abandoned on the trail, with no other trace of the young girl in sight.

READ MORE: Kidnapper forced Charlotte Sena, 9, to write her own ransom note demanding $50,000

Craig Nelson Ross, Jr. slipped up in 1999, and it cost him dearly in the case of Charlotte Sena's kidnapping 24 years later (PD)

Charlotte Sena disappeared as she rode her bike around a loop in a state park (NY State Police)

The family called the police, who scoured the area for hours but ultimately were unable to locate her. Around 400 search and rescue workers showed up to help, covering a 46-linear-mile (74-linear-km) radius. By 9:30am the following morning, an Amber Alert was issued, citing fears that she had been kidnapped and could be in harm's way.

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What actually led to her discovery and the subsequent arrest of Ross, however, was a combination of two errors the 46-year-old made — one during the course of the investigation into Charlotte's kidnapping, and the other in 1999.

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A satellite image shows the trailer where Charlotte was discovered shoved in a cabinet by Ross (Google Maps)

That fateful year over two decades ago, Ross was arrested for driving while intoxicated (a DWI), which led the authorities to record his fingerprints. Those same prints were kept in the system and matched to some found on a ransom letter delivered to the family's mailbox a few short days after Charlotte's disappearance.

Speaking to The U.S. Sun, forensic expert Dr Michael McCutcheon of Forensic Education LLC said the fingerprint connection might not have even been possible were it not for Ross's previous DWI conviction, which led to his fingerprints already being on file. Had they not been, he worries the authorities may have taken significantly longer to locate Ross, by which time Charlotte might have suffered a terrible fate.

A letter delivered to Charlotte's parents' house had Ross's fingerprints on it, which were ultimately used to link him to the crime (AP)

Because fingerprints never change, they're considered almost gold in the forensic world when it comes to their ability to link perpetrators to a crime. They're all unique, McCutcheon said, and they never change — meaning that a person's prints will be the same at age 10 as they are at 100.

The matching of fingerprints ultimately led to the Ballston Spa, New York, resident's arrest and charge for first-degree felony kidnapping on Monday, October 2. He was arraigned at the Mipalton Town Court and is being held without bail.

Jeremiah Hassel