Dad's Kidnapping Claim Triggered Amber Alert for 9-Year-Old Girl. Now He's Charged with Murder By Liam Quinn

The father of a 9-year-old girl who was found dead after police believed she was in “imminent danger” is now in custody and charged with her murder.

New York State Police issued an Amber Alert for Melina Frattolin on Sunday, July 20. Later that day she was found dead in Ticonderoga, N.Y.

Melina was initially reported missing the day before by her father, Luciano Frattolin, 45, who said he believed his daughter had been kidnapped. The father and daughter had been visiting Lake George in upstate New York, on vacation from Montreal, Canada, state police said in a press conference.

Early on the morning of July 21, Luciano Frattolin was taken into custody. New York State Police subsequently announced that Frattolin had been charged with his daughter’s murder.

Police said Melina’s parents had been estranged since 2019. The girl’s mother had full-time custody and Frattolin was expected to return his daughter on Sunday.

Instead, state police alleged, Frattolin killed Melina and left her body in a remote area.

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Melina’s disappearance was first reported by her father on July 19, and the Amber Alert stated that she had been last seen in a white van.

But state police later said authorities “identified inconsistencies in the father’s account of events and the timeline he provided” and determined that there was no evidence of an abduction.

Frattolin is now charged with murder and concealment of a corpse, according to state police. He is being held in Essex County jail.

It is not immediately clear if Frattolin has retained an attorney or entered a plea.