The son of accused child kidnapper Craig Ross Jr. told reporters he didn’t care whether his father lived or died, according to TMZ.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, police arrested Ross Jr. Monday evening, following the disappearance and subsequent rescue of 9-year-old Charlotte Sena. She was abducted over the weekend while riding her bike at New York’s Moreau Lake State Park, during a camping trip with her family.
Reporters later confronted Joshua Ross, the adult son of kidnapper Ross Jr., outside of a Porter Corners residence in upstate New York, where he lives with his father. When asked about the situation, Joshua made it clear he didn’t approve of what his father has been accused of.
“We want nothing to do with him,” he said. “I could give a f*** if the dude dropped dead tomorrow. I could give a f*** if anything, I couldn’t care less. He’s disgusting. He’s gross! He should die, I couldn’t care less.”
Major Dennis J. Schager with the New York State Police announced that Charlotte was “located and in good health” on Monday. Police subsequently arrested Ross Jr., a man who reportedly didn’t know the victim or the family, but lives around 13 minutes away from them.
Fox News Digital reporter Chris Eberhart told CrimeOnline’s Nancy Grace that police identified Ross Jr. through his fingerprints after he allegedly left a ransom note at the victim’s home at 4:20 a.m.
“This guy put the ransom note in the mailbox and they were able to use fingerprints,” Eberhart said. “[The fingerprints] hit back to a late 90s DUI and that’s how they were able to identify them.”
Officials said Monday that the suspect lives in a camper van behind his mother’s home. Police blocked off the street he lives on Monday afternoon, and according to what neighbors told Eberhart, cops idled a few blocks before an ambulance and additional officers arrived.
Private investigator and former federal Task Force Officer, Robert Crispin, explained that the rescue began with investigators linking Ross Jr. to the note and ended with police subduing him at his residence and taking him into custody.
“The note was the beginning of the end to rescue this girl. That note [left at the victim’s home] was put into a fish-tank type environment in a lab,” Crispin said, explaining the process of identifying fingerprints.
“Once they knew who it was, within 30 minutes, that house was surrounded by undercovers initiating surveillance. And then the rest systematically started to come together as they put a rescue team together.”
Police then used a “tactical” maneuver to take the suspect into custody, Crispin said.
“It was a dynamic entry with probably some flash bangs,” he said, explaining that it entails a percussion-type device that produces a loud boom, which stunned the suspect while police made their way into the camper.
“That gives law enforcement the edge, of the element of surprise.”
Police found the victim hidden inside a cabinet in the cabinet, where she appeared to be healthy and physically uninjured. She’s been reunited with her family while the investigation remains ongoing.
Meanwhile, Ross Jr. remains behind bars without bail on a first-degree kidnapping charge.
During a Monday evening press conference, Gov. Kathy Hochul said Charlotte knew police were there to save her.
“She knew she was being rescued. She knew she was in safe hands,” Hochul said. “We are thrilled that she is home and we understand that the outcome is not what every family gets.”
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[Feature Photo: Craig Ross/Saratoga County Sheriff’s Office]
