A woman is speaking out a year after her 9-year-old daughter was kidnapped from a New York state park and found alive with her captor nearly two days later.
Charlotte Sena was on a family camping trip at Moreau Lake State Park in October 2023 when Craig Ross, 47, abducted her as she rode her bicycle. Fox News reported that Ross asked Sena’s help with getting something from the back of his truck, to which she refused before he took her against her will.
“He said, ‘My hands are too big. I can’t reach it in the back of my truck.’ So she decided to help him. And at that point, he pushed her in the back of his truck and drove by our campsite with Charlotte in the back,” Sena’s mother recounted to Fox.
Sena was immediately reported missing, prompting an AMBER Alert. Cops were surveilling the missing girl’s home when they spotted someone leaving something in the family’s mailbox. The item was a ransom note which was checked for fingerprints and led investigators to Ross, whose prints were on file due to a 1999 arrest.
The same day, authorities raided Ross’ mother’s mobile home in Milton. There, they discovered Ross with Sena — who was found covered and bound, but alive, in a cabinet.
Sena’s mother told Fox that her daughter has made “a lot of progress” since last year’s ordeal. However, she lamented about her daughter having to retell what happened, multiple times, despite the mountain of evidence against Ross.
“You have to prove that someone committed a crime against you, even though there is DNA evidence…I feel like, as a whole, we need to do a better job protecting these kids,” she said.
In April, Ross was sentenced to 47 years for the 47-hour ordeal involving Sena. Fox News reported that a plea deal spared Ross from a 111-year sentence, something Sena’s family disagrees with.
“It’s not protecting our children by allowing them [child abusers] back out on the streets,” Sena’s aunt said.
The girl’s mother added, “It’s just wrong.”
For the latest true crime and justice news, subscribe to the ‘Crime Stories with Nancy Grace’ podcast.
[Featured image: Handout]
