Who is Kristen VanWert? Saratoga officer's encounter with kidnapper turned crucial in Charlotte Sena's rescue
SARATOGA SPRINGS, NEW YORK: A 1999 encounter between Saratoga police officer Kristen VanWert and a heavily intoxicated Craig Ross Jr played a crucial role 24 years later in the rescue of Charlotte Sena.
Officer VanWert, who has been working for the Saratoga Springs Police Department for the past 32 years, was the daughter of the department's first female police lieutenant. She currently works as a senior patrol officer.
What led to Kristen Stewart's encounter with Craig Ross Jr in 1999?
In September 1999, VanWert, who had eight years on the job at the time, approached the driver-side window of the vehicle Ross drove at a parking lot off Ballston Avenue.
She could smell the booze on Ross' breath, according to the arrest report, according to Fox News.
"He was continuing his conversation even after he had pulled over," said James Montagnino, the public safety commissioner for the city of Saratoga Springs.
As Ross did not follow her commands to hang up and shut the engine, VanWert reached over and confiscated the keys herself.
"She asked him to step out for a field sobriety test, and he said to her, basically, 'I'll fail the test anyway. You don't have to do the test. I know I'm drunk.'"
The blood alcohol of Ross who was 22 at the time was at .21% which was more than double the legal limit of .10% at the time.
How did Kristen VanWert play a crucial role in Charlotte Sena's rescue?
The rescue of nine-year-old Charlotte Sena who went missing during a camping trip with her family grabbed the nation's attention.
Two days after her disappearance, she returned safely after the relentless search by the law enforcement authorities.
Police arrested Ross on Monday, October 2, after he abducted Sena and held her for ransom.
"This case really kind of underscores is the necessity of having a well-trained, well-funded police department at the local level," said Montagnino.
"It's the little things in policing that make all the difference," he added.
On Monday, October 2, police stood guard at the fourth grader's family home and a "suspicious" vehicle pulled up. The driver of the vehicle then slipped a ransom note in the mailbox.
The note prompted a call to the investigators and gave a description of the vehicle and a forensic analysis of the document.
When the first set of fingerprints did not match, a subsequent check confirmed the print matched Ross', according to Governor Kathy Hochul's statement on Monday.
As his fingerprint remained on the drunken driving case file in the 1999 encounter, it became crucial in identifying the suspect behind Sena's missing.
"I am so grateful that she was found safely, and she was returned home to her family. What a wonderful outcome," VanWert told WNYT after Sena was rescued.
