A missing nine-year-old girl from Canada has been found dead in northern New York State - just hours after her father claimed she had been abducted in a white van.
Authorities have now cast doubt on the father’s version of events, revealing troubling “inconsistencies” in his account, PEOPLE reports.
Melina Galanis Frattolin, 9, was found dead in Ticonderoga, a small town roughly 40 miles north of Lake George, where she was first reported missing late Saturday night. Her father, 45-year-old Luciano Frattolin, told police she had been snatched near Exit 22 off Interstate 87 in Lake George around 9.40PM on July 19.
Authorities quickly issued an Amber Alert, warning the child may have been “taken under circumstances that lead police to believe that they are in imminent danger of serious bodily harm and/or death", the Mirror reports. Melina, who was described as being of Indian descent, 5ft tall and weighing 100lbs, was said to have last been seen wearing a blue-and-white striped shirt, shorts, and white Adidas sneakers.
But by Sunday afternoon, the tone had shifted dramatically.
"No indication that an abduction occurred"
In a brief but devastating statement on Sunday (July 20), the New York State Police confirmed Melina had been found deceased in Ticonderoga, Essex County.
"At this time, there is no indication that an abduction occurred, and there is no threat to the public,” the agency said.
No cause of death or exact location has been released, and as of Monday morning, no one had been charged in connection with the case. Authorities also have not confirmed whether Melina’s father remains under investigation, but police stated that the Warren County Sheriff’s Office had initially led the investigation before handing it over to state authorities “due to jurisdictional considerations.”
“As the case progressed, law enforcement identified inconsistencies in the father’s account of events and the timeline he provided,” the State Police added.
The father behind the claim
Luciano Frattolin, the man who made the original report of a possible abduction, is described on his company website as a Canadian entrepreneur and founder of an organic coffee brand called Gambella. The website outlines a global upbringing and humanitarian philosophy:
“Luciano Frattolin is an experienced entrepreneur with a proven track record of building diverse, high-performance businesses,” it states. “The son of an Ethiopian mother and an Italian father, Luciano was born in the small, remote village of Gambella.”
“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 business site has not released any statements regarding the tragedy or his role in it.
Law enforcement agencies have said they will provide further updates in a media briefing scheduled for Monday. Until then, crucial details — including the circumstances of Melina’s death — remain unknown, The New York Times reports.