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Craig Ross Jr. will be scrutinized for any possible link to the kidnapping and murders of 18-year-old Jennifer Hammond and 19-year-old Christina White, a Saratoga County Sheriff’s official told the Albany Times Union.
Hammond and White disappeared in August 2003 and June 2005, respectively, and were last seen near mobile home parks in Milton, the same town where Ross has lived for decades, the Times Union reports.
According to New York State Police, Hammond was last seen being dropped off at the Creek and Pines Trailer Park to sell magazines.
Her skull was found six years later, in October 2009, in a wooded area off Lake Desolation Road in the Saratoga County town of Greenfield.
White’s skeletal remains were found nearly a year after she disappeared, on Daketown Road in Greenfield, eight miles from her home. She had been stabbed in the abdomen, police said.
“At this time, we have no information to indicate that (Ross) was or was not involved,” Saratoga County Sheriff’s Investigator Matthew Robinson, who is the lead investigator on the killings, told the Times Union. adding that Ross will be probed for connections to any major case in the region as part of a “standard investigative step.”
Ross, age 47, was arrested Monday, Oct. 2, 48 hours after allegedly kidnapping the 9-year-old girl from a campground at Moreau Lake State Park in Saratoga County.
The girl’s disappearance Saturday, Sept. 30, triggered a statewide AMBER Alert and garnered national attention. Hundreds of search and rescue members fanned out across the 6,200-acre park for any sign of her.
Finally, on Monday evening, police found the child in a closet inside Ross’ home in the Saratoga County village of Ballston Spa.
Investigators tied Ross to the kidnapping after getting his fingerprint off a ransom note that he left in the family’s mailbox, police said.
He was charged with first-degree kidnapping and was being held at the Saratoga County jail without bail.
Police said more charges are anticipated.
Speaking with a reporter outside Ross’ home Monday, his son disavowed his father, saying “he should die” for what he allegedly did.
“He’s in jail. We want nothing to do with him. I couldn’t give a (expletive) if the dude dropped dead tomorrow,” the man said in a video posted by TMZ.
This continues to be a developing story. Check back to Daily Voice for updates.
Click here for the full report from the Albany Times Union.
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