Park Predators - The Loop

Episode Date: December 17, 2024

When a young girl vanishes from an upstate New York state park authorities assemble a massive search for her. After an ominous note shows up in her family’s mailbox, the hunt for a predator kicks into high gear and a heroic rescue unfolds in the nick of time.To hear more about Charlotte’s story, listen to Sisterhood of the Survivors Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.View source material and photos for this episode at: parkpredators.com/the-loop Park Predators is an audiochuck production. Connect with us on social media:Instagram: @parkpredators | @audiochuckTwitter: @ParkPredators | @audiochuckFacebook: /ParkPredators  | /audiochuckllcTikTok: @audiochuck

Hi, park enthusiasts. I'm your host, Delia D'Ambra. And the story I'm going to tell you about today is one that quite literally brought the state of New York and maybe even the entire world to a standstill in the fall of 2023. It felt like every update that showed up on social media about this case caused parents and guardians of children to take pause and worry. I know I did. It happened in Moreau Lake State Park in New York, which is located about 45 minutes north of the city of Albany. Based on the pictures and information on its website, this recreational space is known for

being easily accessible and family-friendly. You can hike, boat, and bike, among many other activities, including ice fishing in the wintertime. There are also several campgrounds that are known for being quiet, peaceful, and secluded from the more active attractions in the park. There's a preserve called Big Bend Preserve and it encompasses 860 acres next to the Hudson River. It's home to open forest and wetlands that has six miles of trails winding through it. Unfortunately, over time the preserve has had invasive species permeated. Conservation staff continues to work on managing the problem and restoring native

plants to the ecosystem. But in late September, 2023, a different kind of invasive threat took root in the park, the humankind. And when he left, he took a precious thing with him, a little girl. This is Park Predators. Music Around 6 PM on Saturday, September 30th, 2023, a group of children staying at Moreau Lake State Park in New York were riding their bikes in a wooded campground area known as Loop A when some of them decided to call it quits for the day. I imagine since it was getting close to dinner time, the ones that wanted to go figured it was probably best to meet it with their families and find out what was for dinner or what else was happening that evening.

Nine year old Charlotte had her own idea though. She wanted to take just one more ride around Lou Bay, but the thing was her family had a rule. You could only ride your bike if you had a buddy, but being a kid, Charlotte figured just this once probably wouldn't hurt. So she tore off on her bicycle to make that final lap. About 15 minutes later, her mother Trisha returned to the family's campsite after taking one of Charlotte's younger siblings to a bathroom facility nearby. And she did a quick head count of all the kids in their family and their friends' families. And that's when she noticed Charlotte wasn't among them.

Now, this felt strange to Trisha. So naturally, she and the other people camping with them started to look around for Charlotte. Even folks who weren't camping in the family's friend group, but who were busy preparing their own dinners at nearby sites, stopped what they were doing and started walking around and yelling Charlotte's name. After a little while of doing this and getting no response, the group decided to widen their search. At about 6.45 p.m., some adults who'd been camping with Charlotte's family discovered

her bike abandoned on loop A, like literally around the corner from the campsite, almost as if she'd made it around most of the loop, but for whatever reason had stopped short. The bike being there, but Charlotte nowhere in sight wasn't a great sign. By that point, Trisha had already dialed 911 and reported her daughter missing. According to the available source material, it looks like the Saratoga County Sheriff's office and New York state police initially arrived on scene by 7 PM. And then the FBI got involved not long after that.

Trisha and her sister-in-law, Janay, who have a podcast called Sisterhood of the Survivors, described this moment as chaotic and scary. The description the state police sent out about Charlotte said she was last seen wearing an orange tie-dyed Pokemon t-shirt, dark blue pants, black Crocs, and a gray bike helmet. Her general physical features were that she was white with blonde hair and had green eyes. She weighed 90 pounds and stood roughly 4 foot 6 inches tall, though one missing child flyer I saw also described her as 5 foot 1, so I'm not sure why there was this discrepancy. But either way, after law enforcement put that information out, they spared no time

launching a full-scale search for Charlotte. They brought in aviation units, underwater rescue teams, bloodhounds, and drones. According to an article by the Atlanta Constitution, one concern was that perhaps Charlotte had just lost her way and somehow ended up in Moreau Lake. Thus, the need for dive teams. In response to the situation, New York's Governor Kathy Hochul held a press conference at the park and told media outlets that the investigation was also utilizing folks who knew how to analyze, quote, other forms of communications in the park at that time, end

quote. Which Rachel Sharpe reported for The Independent was later clarified as being cell phone pings from people's personal devices that had come and gone from the area around the time Charlotte disappeared. The governor also said, quote, as a mother and as a grandmother, I cannot imagine the pain they're going through.

Hearts are broken here today in New York. Hopefully there will be a reunion. Hopefully there will be a family that has been traumatized, but is reunited. That is our prayer and our hope." End quote. Charlotte's family members took part in search efforts too. In their podcast, Tricia and Janay talk about

how Charlotte's immediate family was asked by state police and the FBI to remain at their campsite, just in case Charlotte came back. But also so that authorities could know where they were in the event they needed additional information during the search. The Times Union reported that relatives and friends of the family began posting missing person flyers in local businesses near the park. There are around 2,000 flyers made within the first day thanks to help from the Times Union. One of Charlotte's uncles was a member of the Schenectady Fire Department, which was

actually one of the agencies taking part in the search. So I can only imagine how tough that must have been for him, you know, to like do his job but also he had that personal connection to the case, which probably made it all the more gut-wrenching. His wife, Janaye, who I mentioned earlier does the Sisterhood of the Survivors podcast with Trisha, posted a message on TikTok that said, quote, "'She is just a sweet, adorable girl.

"'There isn't any information we can tell at this time, "'but if you can keep sharing her photo and praying, "'really, that is really the best that our family "'can ask of anyone at this time." Around 9.35 a.m. the next day, Sunday, October 1st, authorities issued an Amber Alert for the missing girl and told reporters that they suspected Charlotte might have been abducted since they'd searched so thoroughly for her in the park Saturday evening and came up with nothing to indicate she was still there.

Within a short amount of time, the story made international news and Charlotte's name and picture were everywhere. The sheer size of the search area authorities were dealing with, though, was overwhelming. Moreau Lake State Park is more than 7,000 acres, a lot of ground to cover. And the reality was, even with the more than 100 searchers and 75 law enforcement officers pitching in, they were not going to be able to traverse that much space quickly. I know from interviews I've done with FBI child abduction case agents that the window of time to find a missing kid alive is very small. After the first 24 hours, the likelihood that they will be found safe and sound goes down drastically.

I remember one agent telling me that after 48 hours, missing children are usually found deceased. That's if they're found at all." To make matters even trickier, the specific campsite the family had been staying at on Lupe was reportedly the closest site to the entrance of the camp. So I think one possible concern might have been that whoever had taken her would have had an advantage because they would have gotten in and out of the area fairly quickly with an access point so close by. Coverage by the Atlanta Constitution said that there was an interstate just a few minutes away that didn't have toll cameras at the time, which I imagine could have been an ideal route for an abductor to take if they wanted

to fly under the radar and knew the area. While search efforts were underway, the state park was closed to the public. None of the usual activities like hiking, camping, and boating were permitted until authorities gave the all-clear that the recreational space could reopen. Law enforcement officers stopped visitors' cars and checked their back seats and trunks as they left the park, but didn't find any trace of Charlotte. Trisha was quoted by the Vancouver Sun saying that her daughter was a trusting child and a good kid. The family desperately wanted her to be returned. Her family described the fourth grader as a nice girl who was well-liked, smart, and often made sure to watch out for other kids. She had two other siblings and had recently been elected as the class officer for her school's student council, and she liked exactly what you'd imagine

a child her age would like. Pokemon, wildlife, cats, and singing. Not necessarily in that order, but I mean, come on, she's a kid. Is there a more wholesome collection of interests? Brendan Lyons and Patrick Tyne reported for the Times Union that as Sunday night came to a close, Charlotte's classmates, friends, and family members attended a vigil on the Hudson River behind a local library. And that's really all they could do was wait, hope, and pray, because substantial updates had not come in. Behind the scenes, though, things were happening,

and law enforcement's investigation was unfolding at warp speed. I think it's safe to say, based on reading the collective source material and listening to Tricia and Janay's podcast, that teams of investigators were working every possible lead and trying to learn as much as they could about Charlotte or her whereabouts, while simultaneously trying to track down people who'd been in the state park when she vanished. And thankfully, the big break investigators were hoping for

came to them in the early morning hours of Monday, October 2nd, in the form of a note. According to reporting by ABC News, around 420 AM on Monday, October 2nd, so less than 48 hours into the investigation, a state police trooper who was standing guard at the family's home checked their mailbox and found a note inside. At the time, no one from the family was home because Trisha and the rest of Charlotte's family were still in the state park searching for her. The source material doesn't say exactly what was written on the note, but the gist of it was that someone who claimed to have Charlotte wanted a significant monetary ransom.

The independent claimed that sources close to the investigation said that the note may have been written in Charlotte's own handwriting. But that wasn't something I saw in many other articles, so I'm not 100% sure about that detail. What I do know is that Janae and Tricia said in their podcast that the note had zero instructions or demands on where to meet up with someone to provide the ransom, which was kind of odd. There's also a bit of inconsistent reporting on this next part.

But Martha McHardy reported for the Independent that shortly before discovering the ransom demand, the trooper who'd found it and maybe a few others had been at another call in the area. So it seems like maybe no one from law enforcement was physically present at the family's home when whoever left the note came by and dropped it off. Another article by Emma James for the Daily Mail said the same thing, that a

trooper who was tasked with standing guard had just missed whoever the mystery person was who left it. However, there were some articles that stated the opposite, that several troopers or maybe just one trooper was there the whole time and did actually see a suspicious person drive up in a vehicle and leave the note, which is what prompted them to check the mailbox in the first place. If that's the case, I don't know why the trooper didn't act right then and there and investigate the letter deliverer or try to pursue them. It was definitely a question reporters in 2023 asked, but there's indication in the

news coverage that perhaps the trooper just thought the person in the car was a friend of the family leaving their condolences, Because that had been happening throughout the evening. Anyway, what has been confirmed is that when investigators examined the note for fingerprints, they caught a lucky break. There was one, and right away they entered it into the state's database of known criminal offenders. A few hours later, around 2.30 p.m., a match was found.

The print belonged to a 46-year-old man named Craig Nelson Ross Jr., who'd been arrested in 1999 for driving while intoxicated in the city of Saratoga Springs. The Atlanta Constitution's coverage stated that the reason his prints were already in the criminal database was because they'd been taken as a result of that DWI offense. Now that authorities had his name, they went to several addresses associated with him, but quickly dialed in on a property his mother Joan owned in Boston Spa, New York. That location was about 20 miles north of Moreau Lake State Park, and like 12 minutes from where Charlotte lived with her family.

When a state police special operations team and FBI SWAT unit arrived at the property around 6.30 p.m., Craig was there but not inside the main residence. He was actually living in a dingy camper van parked in the backyard. Initially he resisted the authorities and there was a bit of a struggle, but eventually the officers took him into custody. The Independent reported that at that time he was in his underwear. Law enforcement did a sweep of the property and quickly found Charlotte hidden inside a cabinet of Craig's camper. She was alive and appeared to be in good health. Authorities put her into an ambulance and sent her to Albany Medical Center Hospital for further evaluation. Craig was then arrested and charged with first-degree kidnapping.

His mother's neighbors told the Associated Press that they were surprised to learn about what had happened. When everything was going down and police flooded their street, one woman said she thought a drug raid was the reason for so much law enforcement presence. Only later did she learn what the truth was. Another neighbor told the Daily Mail that no one had suspected Charlotte was on their street at all. They knew that a lot of people were looking for her from what they'd seen on the news, but they never imagined that she was right there next to them all along. At 6 32 p.m. law enforcement got to deliver what I

imagined was the best news Charlotte's parents could ever hear. She was safe, alive, and would be coming home. Not too much later, the family had all reunited at the hospital. A GoFundMe page was created to help them recover from everything they'd gone through and adjust their daughter back into what her life had been like before this all happened. Her aunt Janaye was a longtime journalist and writer who took it upon herself to articulate statements on behalf of Charlotte's family after everything was over. who took it upon herself to articulate statements on behalf of Charlotte's family after everything was over. In the wake of Craig's arrest, she told reporters in a statement published by ABC News,

quote, We are thrilled that she is home and we understand that the outcome is not what every family gets. A huge thank you to the FBI, the New York State Police, all of the agencies that were mobilized, all of the families, friends, and volunteers." In a press conference after the rescue, authorities revealed that they were trying to determine if Craig had known the family prior to taking Charlotte. You see, an address on the registration for his car came back to a residence that was

less than two miles away from the family's home, which felt like either a super wild coincidence or maybe something else, an intentional connection. two miles away from the family's home, which felt like either a super wild coincidence or maybe something else, an intentional connection. The only way to know for sure though was to ask Craig. The Associated Press and The Independent reported that he'd been arraigned overnight on Monday and booked into the Saratoga County jail during the early morning hours of Tuesday, October 3rd.

So investigators used that as the opportune time to sit him down for an interview. They needed to determine if he'd surveilled the family or targeted Charlotte specifically before deciding to go through with the abduction. Because he'd personally gone by and left the ransom note in her family's mailbox, that indicated to some degree that he at least knew or had looked up where they lived prior to Monday, October 2nd. But the authorities didn't get much clarity on this. Because according to Elizabeth Wolf and Selena Tabor's reporting for The Independent, Craig wasn't playing ball. He asked for a lawyer and declined to answer any of law enforcement's questions.

Janay and Trisha clarified in their podcast that the family did not know or have any interaction with Charlotte's abductor prior to the crime, nor was there any indication that he'd known them. This was truly a case of stranger abduction. The only other person who could give authorities crucial information about what Craig had done during those hours Charlotte was missing was Charlotte. But for the time being, investigators refrained from interviewing her until a forensic interviewer who was trained to question young people could sit down with the 9-year-old.

In the meantime, investigators wanted to see if there was any video of Craig driving away from the state park on the evening of September 30th in the direction to his mother's property. Authorities asked people with properties along that route to check their cameras to see if any had captured images of Craig's vehicle. They also gathered information about his cell phone pings and were able to determine that his device had in fact been in the area where Charlotte was taken on the evening of September 30th. Janay and Tricia mentioned in their podcast that investigators were also able to use the GPS system in Craig's truck to track his movements throughout that entire day. Turns out he'd driven to the state park in the morning, then left at some point to ride by a local theme park. He'd also been by a local college and shopping center before eventually returning to the state park on the evening of the abduction. I imagine these findings are what prompted investigators to dig more into the 46-year-old's

background. And according to the source material, the picture wasn't pretty. The Albany Times Union reported that more than a year before Charlotte's abduction, he'd been suspected of sexually abusing a 12-year-old girl who was friends with his family. The New York State Police had investigated those allegations when the victim came forward in the summer of 2023, many months after the incident. But ultimately, authorities closed the case without filing any charges.

There were also police and court records from April 2017 that showed he'd been previously arrested and charged for choking a person during a domestic dispute. That offense was just considered a misdemeanor though, and it's unclear from the available source material if he was ever actually prosecuted. These were just incidents that were known to the authorities though. There was another story one of his neighbors, named Carol Brown, had shared with NBC that is particularly eerie. According to Madison Lambert, Kathy Park, and Daniel Arkins reporting, Carol had caught

Craig near her nine-year-old grandson in the summer of 2023 while the youngster was doing some yard work for her. She noticed Craig in her yard when her dog had barked loudly, and she went to see what was up. She said when she looked over where her grandson was working, he saw him standing over the boy. When she asked him what he was doing, Craig said he was just talking to her grandson about the weed whacker.

But when Carol pressed him with more questions, he just started to back away and very quickly got on a bike and rode off. I know, really creepy. But according to the governor's statements to the press, Craig had never been a registered sex offender. So who knows what his motives were during his interaction with Carole's grandson. The Daily Mail reported that Craig himself was a father of three kids and he'd been battling a chronic illness. His condition had apparently gotten so bad that he'd fallen behind on his rent payments. About a month before Charlotte's abduction, he'd moved into a camper van behind his mom's house.

The details of his living situation are kind of unconventional. But according to that same piece by the Daily Mail, he lived for half of a week at his own residence, which was a three-bedroom home not far from Charlotte's family's house. While he was there, he'd spend time with his own daughter, who was 11 years old. But then the rest of the week, he'd be at his mother's property. His neighbors told reporter Emma James that his two oldest sons, who were in their twenties, lived at Craig's house. Neighbors on Jones Street who'd known Craig and his siblings for many years said that growing up, his mother appeared to struggle with alcoholism, and there were even times

where she'd locked her kids out of the house. These neighbors said that when that would happen they'd make sure Craig and his siblings were fed and taken care of. They were surprised to learn that he'd moved back onto his mother's property in 2023, because as far as they knew, the relationship between him and his mom wasn't good. They believed that she probably never even picked up on the fact that he'd brought home a little girl who wasn't his own daughter and was keeping her hidden in his camper van on the property. The only unusual thing people living close to Craig's mother's property had noticed

prior to the kidnapping was that a few months earlier he'd covered up the windows of his camper van. In hindsight, they told the Daily Mail that they thought that may have been an indication that he prepared ahead of time to do the abduction. That realization was a tough one for residents to process. One of them told reporter Emma James, quote, We didn't hear or see anything. It's awful to think that she could have been screaming in there and we had no idea, end quote. In mid-November 2023, a little over a month after the kidnapping and rescue, prosecutors tacked on four additional charges against Craig for predatory sexual assault on a child, sexual abuse, and endangering the welfare of a child.

He pleaded not guilty to all of them and remained in the Saratoga County jail without bail. His trial was scheduled to begin in April 2024. In the meantime, Charlotte's family tried to resume some semblance of a normal life, for Charlotte's sake. Christmas passed and then the new year began. In late February, about two months before everyone was scheduled to head to court, Craig and his defense attorney decided to change course. According to reporting by the New York Post, he took a plea deal. At his formal sentencing hearing on April 17, 2024, he got 25 years to life in prison for the

kidnapping charge and 22 years to life for predatory sexual assault of a child. A total of 47 years. By taking this route, the defense spared Charlotte and her family the headache of having to go through a criminal trial. It also meant that Charlotte wouldn't have to testify against her abductor and see him face-to-face in court. The district attorney for Saratoga County told the press in a statement, quote, "...with the guilty plea today of Craig N. Ross Jr., the victim and their family were able to hear the defendant admit his guilt to these heinous and despicable acts." End quote. The DA emphasized that Craig would have to serve several decades behind bars before he can ever be

considered for parole. He also had to register as a sex offender. Janay and Trisha discussed in their podcast some of the circumstances from the abduction that came out in court when staff from the district attorney's office painted a picture of how exactly Craig had lured Charlotte into trusting him. The women said that he'd seen Charlotte riding bikes with her friends as a group on the evening of September 30th, and he went on the side of Lupe to essentially lay in wait for them. He parked his truck between two campsites that were occupied at the time, but no one was actually hanging out at. Then, when Charlotte came riding past by herself, he flagged her down and asked her to help

him get something from the backseat of his truck. She initially told him no, that he was a grown- up and could do it himself. But Craig persisted and said his hands were too big, so he needed someone with smaller hands to get the item for him. That's when Charlotte, being the kind, caring child she is, decided to go over and help him. Trisha says that's when her daughter leaned into the truck and when her abductor pushed her inside and told her not to get up. He then drove right past the family's campsite,

but they, of course, had no idea Charlotte was inside his vehicle. The women emphasized in their podcast that because of the suspect's behavior and travels on September 30th, it was clear he'd been on the prowl looking for a child to abduct that day. If it wasn't going to be Charlotte, they are certain it would have been another child

who'd have gone missing that day. They don't believe his ransom demand was ever his main motivation for the crime. Their opinion is that it was an afterthought. After the sentencing, Trisha bravely shared a statement with the court that read in part, quote, I don't understand why people like you do the things that you do. You took something from my daughter that cannot be replaced and I will never forgive you for that. You don't deserve forgiveness.

Maybe that says something about the type of person I am, but I will deal with that when I am no longer a part of this world. Maybe it makes you feel powerful to alter someone's life to change who they are mentally, emotionally, and physically. She went on to say, She's stronger than what you tried to do. She wanted to come today so she could see you be punished for what you did to her. Because you didn't change her.

And though her trust is hurt right now, it will not be forever. Even after what you did to her, she was concerned for your cat. And asked if you did this to her because someone did it to you when you were a kid. That is the kind of person my daughter is. She is everything that you are lacking. She is everything good in this world, and you are nothing. She will make this world a better place and already has because she wasn't afraid to tell her story and now you are no longer allowed to be a part of society.

She put you here. I hope you understand that. She put you here because she was not afraid." Charlotte's family members continue to hail her as a hero, and I do too. What happened to her is unthinkable, and I hope that one day she'll be able to share her perspective of this experience publicly if that's the best healing journey for her. Her story is powerful and moving, and I know her Aunt Janaye mentioned that in a blog post she wrote in April 2024 after Craig was sentenced.

She typed, quote, she is the real hero, having not only kept herself alive during those harrowing hours, but also having the remarkable ability to put him away for life so he can never harm another child ever again. She did that. The petite little angel who barely scrapes five feet tall went up against a giant scary monster, the boogeyman in the flesh, and she won. No one can ever take that away from her. Not all heroes wear capes. Mine wears a Pokemon t-shirt."

Janay and Trisha came out with the first episode of their podcast, Sisterhood of the Survivors, in May 2024, and say that they're working with state officials to get a piece of legislation called the Child Survivor Privacy Act passed that would ensure every minor survivor of sexual assault is assigned an advocate who will be by their side throughout the legal process that inherently has to happen

once an offender is arrested and goes to court. I commend them for their work and hope that all the things they aim to accomplish to turn this traumatic experience into something good comes to fruition. They've also been working closely with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children to determine how Charlotte's story can be used to help other families who may find themselves in a similar situation in the future. I know sometimes covering cases on this show that are so recent can strike a nerve in the folks closest to the case because it's all still so fresh.

But I made sure to email with Janae and Tricia before putting this episode out to get their blessing and input. I wanted to honor their wishes of not using Charlotte's photograph, her full name, or her family's surname. I hope that in some small way by me telling this story the best way I know how, it helps to further the family's cause and is something they can share with others to get their mission out into the world."

When Trisha gave her impact statement in court, she specifically asked members of the media to refer to her daughter, not as a victim, but as a survivor. She requested the same thing of me. And that's exactly what Charlotte is. A courageous survivor, who her family says strives every day to make sure that this experience does not define her. If you'd like to hear more about Charlotte's story and what her family is doing to enact change, give Sisterhood of the Survivors podcast a listen. I'll link to it in the show notes and blog post for this episode.

Park Predators will be off next week, but we'll return the following week with a brand new episode. Park Predators is an AudioChuck production. You can view a list of all the source material for this episode on our website, parkpredators.com, and you can also follow Park Predators on Instagram, at parkpredators. So what do you think Chuck, do you approve?