A nine-year-old girl has been found dead less than 24 hours after her father claimed she had been abducted in a white van.
On Saturday, the New York State Police (NYSP) announced an ‘amber alert’ for Melina Frattolin when Luciano Frattolin, aged 45, reported his suspicion that his daughter was kidnapped.
He called the Warren County Sheriff’s Office (WCSO) reporting the ‘possible abduction’ in the area of Exit 22 in Lake George, upstate New York.
Yet, by Sunday afternoon, authorities delivered a tragic update stating ‘there is no evidence of an abduction’ and unfortunately, the young girl had been discovered deceased.
‘The Warren County Sheriff’s Office initially led the investigation,’ NYSP said.
‘As the case progressed, law enforcement identified inconsistencies in the father’s account of events and the timeline he provided.’
NYSP said Melina was found dead in Ticonderoga, New York, around 45 miles south of where her father said she had last been seen.
They added that ‘there is no indication that an abduction occurred’ and ‘there is no threat to the public’.
The New York State Police (NYSP) had issued an ‘amber alert’ on Saturday concerning Melina Frattolin (pictured) after her father, Luciano Frattolin, 45, expressed his concern that she might have been abducted.
Luciano Frattolin (pictured), 45, told police he thought his daughter had been kidnapped, but they identified ‘inconsistencies’ in his story and she was later found dead
Frattolin was described as five feet tall, weighing 100 pounds and being of Indian descent with brown hair and brown eyes.
Police said that both she and her father are Canadian residents.
Lake George, where her father claimed she was last seen, is a small waterside town in the Adirondack region of upstate New York around 60 miles north of Albany.
No charges have yet been made. NYSP said they will be holding a conference to give more information about the tragedy on Monday.
Frattolin is the founder of an organic coffee brand called Gambella, according to the product’s website.
On Sunday afternoon police issued an update saying ‘there is no indication that an abduction occurred’ and the little girl had been found dead. (Pictured: Melina with her father)
A nine-year-old girl has been found dead less than 24 hours after her father claimed she had been abducted in a white van. (Pictured: Melina Frattolin with her father Luciano, 45)
Police said both Melina Frattolin and her father Luciano are Canadian residents
Lake George, where the girl was last seen, is a small waterside town in the Adirondack region of upstate New York around 60 miles north of Albany
‘Luciano Frattolin is an experienced entrepreneur with a proven track record of building diverse, high-performance businesses,’ the website reads.
‘With a background in the humanities and social sciences, his formal education, together with his pragmatic understanding about the complexities of life, motivates him to maintain an understanding of the world grounded in a distinct cross-cultural ethos.
‘The son of an Ethiopian mother and an Italian father, Luciano was born in the small, remote village of Gambella.
‘With a childhood spent running between rows of crimson coffee buds on the Ethiopian family plantation, and the neoclassical architecture of his father’s Milano, his vision of the world and his pursuits within, reflect these hyphenated cultures.’
Galanis Frattolin is described as five feet tall, weighing 100 pounds and being of Indian descent with brown hair and brown eyes. New York State Police had issued an Amber Alert for the child
Police issued an amber alert at the time of Melina’s alleged abduction, warning that they believed the child was in ‘imminent danger’.
Amber alerts are activated in ‘the most serious child-abduction cases,’ according to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) website.
‘The goal of an AMBER Alert is to instantly galvanize the community to assist in the search for and safe recovery of a missing child.
‘These alerts are broadcast through radio, TV, road signs, cellphones, and other data-enabled devices.’
The nonprofit said that 1,268 children have been ‘recovered’ thanks to their assistance in 2025 alone.
