The family of a 9-year-old girl who was abducted from an upstate New York campground three months ago is breaking her silence as the child tries to “resume her normal life” following a terrifying ordeal that lasted several days.
The shocking abduction made national headlines when the boy disappeared while riding his bike around a small loop in Lake Moreau State Park, outside Saratoga Springs during a family camping trip on September 1.
The ordeal, which Gov. Kathy Hochul said was “every parent’s worst nightmare,” ended about 48 hours later when authorities found her hiding in a cabinet in the mobile home of a local man, Craig Nelson Ross Jr., 47, who lived only two miles from the girl’s house.
“You always say things like this don’t happen to you but obviously it can happen to you,” Jené Sena, the victim’s aunt, told ABC News Thursday.
Sena, speaking on behalf of the family, asked the network not to air the girl’s name or show her picture, even though her identity and appearance have been widely publicized after being the subject of an Amber Alert. The Post has complied with the family’s request as well.
Jené Sena, the aunt of the 9-year-old girl who was abducted from a camping area in the upper part three months ago, spoke to ABC News. ABC7
The woman said she “fell to my knees, screaming” with relief when she learned police had finally found her nephew following a massive multi-agency manhunt.
“Pure torture, pure torture, really pure, you think like, ‘What if this doesn’t end soon?’ ‘What if we can’t find him,’ all sorts of things,” said Sena.
Ross had led police to the scene when he dropped a ransom note into the family’s mailbox as troopers stalked the address.
The young victim was held in the alleged kidnapper’s mobile home, just two miles from his family’s home. New York Post
He was initially charged only with first-degree kidnapping, but prosecutors added charges of predatory sexual assault of a child, along with charges of sexual abuse, assault and endangering the welfare of a child last month.
“Honestly, it’s been a roller coaster. He is a child who does not ask what happened to him. So, he tried to continue his normal life,” said Sena.
“Unfortunately, the world we live in, there are predators out there. So the justice is not only that he got away safely to not do this to anyone else, but also that he had … a great support system and tools, and whatever he needed around him to move forward,” Sena said.
Craig Nelson Ross Jr., 47, faces up to life in prison if convicted of kidnapping AP
“This is not just a headline. This is not just something to get clicks. These are real people, real children, real families,” he added.
The woman told the network that the young victim will spend Christmas with her family and hopes her case will bring awareness to other kidnappings and increase “sensitivity” in the legal system.
Ross has pleaded not guilty and faces up to life in prison if convicted.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
