Police have revealed that a nine-year-old Canadian tourist was found dead in upstate New York on Sunday afternoon, only hours after her father alleged that she had been kidnapped.
The body of Melina Galanis Frattolin was recovered in Ticonderoga, New York – about 30 miles away from Lake George, where her father initially said she was last seen.
Police had issued an amber alert citing her “imminent danger” of being harmed or killed earlier Sunday.
RELATED STORIES
Nonetheless, there was seemingly no real abduction during the entire ordeal, according to cops.
At 9.58 pm, the girl’s father, 45-year-old Luciano Frattolin, called the Warren County Sheriff’s Office Saturday evening, reporting his daughter’s disappearance, as he claimed a possible abduction.
The nine-year-old and her father are both residents of Canada, per the New York State Police.
Authorities found “inconsistencies in the father’s account of events and the timeline he provided,” while the WCSO was leading the investigation, per the NYSP.
Soon after, the investigation was turned over to the NYSP “due to jurisdictional considerations.” The NYSP established that there was no indication of a kidnapping.
State Police activated an amber alert for Melina on Sunday morning, about four hours after she was reported missing, along with a description. Later, it was reportedly cancelled at 4:18 p.m.
“The child was taken under circumstances that lead police to believe that they are in imminent danger of serious bodily harm and/or death,” the alert read.
For now, the circumstances of the abduction of Melina Galanis Frattolin have not been released, and the suspect has been listed as “unknown” in the NYSP statement.
Also, cops say that no suspect or arrest has been announced in relation to the death of the Canadian girl, as the New York State Police said that there is no present “threat to the public.”
