Missing Girl, 9, Found Dead in New York After Amber Alert, Police Say 'No Indication' of Abduction Following Dad's Report By Brenton Blanchet 50

A 9-year-old girl, whom authorities said was believed to be in “imminent danger,” has been found dead following initial reports of a possible abduction in Lake George, N.Y. Now, police said there were “inconsistencies” in her father’s account of events.

On Sunday, July 20, hours after officials issued an Amber Alert for Melina Frattolin, the New York State Police announced that she was found dead in Ticonderoga, N.Y.

Melina’s 45-year-old father, Luciano Frattolin, initially called Warren County officials at around 9:58 p.m. local time on July 19 to report his daughter missing, according to a release shared by the state police on July 20. Police later issued an Amber Alert, which prompted nationwide coverage of the girl’s possible abduction.

After the Warren County Sheriff’s Office (WCSO) took on the investigation, officials “identified inconsistencies in the father’s account of events and the timeline he provided,” per state police.

With the help of multiple agencies in New York and Essex County, authorities then located Melina in Ticonderoga.

“Due to jurisdictional considerations, the Warren County Sheriff’s Office has turned the investigation over to the New York State Police,” the agency said in a statement. “At this time, there is no indication that an abduction occurred, and there is no threat to the public.”

At 4:18 p.m., state police announced that the WCSO had canceled the Amber Alert for Melina. When reached for comment on July 20, state police directed PEOPLE to its news release.

Both the father and daughter are Canadian residents, per state police.

The news of Melina’s death came just hours after state police announced in an Amber Alert that the 9-year-old — who was then said to have been last seen in a white van at 9:40 p.m. on July 19 — was “taken under circumstances that lead police to believe that they are in imminent danger of serious bodily harm and/or death.”

Per the since-canceled Amber Alert, the girl was last seen going southbound on Interstate 87 near exit 22 in the area of Lake George. The WCSO had been investigating the case as a child abduction.

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At the time of the Amber Alert, a suspect was unknown, and authorities were encouraging those with information tied to Melina’s whereabouts to call the WCSO. She was described as being of Indian descent with brown hair and brown eyes, 5 feet tall, weighing 100 lbs., and wearing a blue-and-white striped shirt, shorts and white Adidas sneakers.

The Amber Alert — which state police administer in New York — did not detail what the girl was doing at the time of the reported abduction, where she was or who she was with.

According to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, Amber Alerts are activated in “the most serious child abduction cases.” A total of 1,268 children have been “recovered” as a result of the alerts since the end of 2024.