A 9 -year -old Canadian girl whose father had reported that she had been kidnapped in the state of New York was found dead on Sunday afternoon, with researchers saying that she had not been kidnapped and now questioned inconsistencies in her father’s history, according to the authorities.
The girl’s body, identified by the Warren County Sheriff’s office as Melina Galanis Frattolin, was discovered in Ticonderoga, New York, near the New York-Vermont border, about 15 miles from Lake George, where her father initially said she had been kidnapped on Saturday by a man who was driving a white truck.
The father’s report led the New York State Police to issue an Amber Alert on Sunday earlier. A massive search was launched, which involved the K-9 State Police and the Aviation Units, the Rangers of the New York State Park, the Sheriff’s offices of the Essex County and the Warren County, the Department of Conservation of the State of New York and the Ticonderoga Police Department.
According to the Police, an Ambar alert was issued on July 20, 2025, for a 9 -year -old girl who is believed to be kidnapped near Lake George, New York, according to the police. (Getty)
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“As the case advanced, the police identified the inconsistencies in the account of the father of events and the timeline he provided,” according to a state police statement.
The investigation was on Sunday afternoon when the State Police took over the investigation of the Warren County Sheriff’s office.
There were no immediate comments from the State Police about whether Melina’s father, whom the police identified as Luciano Frattolin, also 45 years old, also from Canada, had been arrested in the death of her daughter.
The State Police did not reveal how Melina died.
“At this time, there are no indications that a kidnapping occurred, and there is no threat to the public,” said the state police in his statement.
Luciano Frattolin called 911 in Warren County on Saturday night, claiming that his daughter had been kidnapped by a stranger, according to the police. The father said that the girl was kidnapped around 9:40 pm at a rest stop of the interest 87 near Lake George, where she allegedly said they stopped to use the bathroom, according to police radio offices provided by Broadcastify.
The father told the police that his daughter wore light -colored shorts, a blue and white striped shirt and Adidas Blancas sneakers, police said.
The George Lake, nicknamed the queen of the American lakes, is a long and narrow oligotrophic lake located in the southeast base of the Adirondack mountains
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“The child was taken in circumstances that led the police to believe that he is in imminent danger of bodily damage and/or death,” authorities said in an initial statement that accompanied Amber’s alert.
