Dad claims daughter, 9, 'abducted in white van' before sinister twist
A missing nine-year-old girl has tragically been found dead as police say her father's timeline of events has "inconsistencies".
Police had launched a desperate search for Melina Galanis Frattolin, who her father claimed was abducted in a white van, but shared a heartbreaking update less than 24 hours later. An "amber alert" was issued on Sunday to alert locals around the Lake George of New York about her disappearance. New York State Police said they received a call from her dad Luciano Frattolin, 45, saying his daughter has possibly been kidnapped. Cops have since said they tragically found Melina's dead body in Ticonderoga, around 40 miles north of Lake George.
In the heartbreaking update, The New York State Police said: "At this time, there is no indication that an abduction occurred, and there is no threat to the public."
The nine-year-old had been reported missing in the area of Exit 22 in Lake George by her dad, both Canadian residents, just before 10pm on Saturday.
The New York State Police said: "The Warren County Sheriff's Office initially led the investigation. As the case progressed, law enforcement identified inconsistencies in the father's account of events and the timeline he provided."
In his initial report to police, the dad said Melina was last seen at around 9.40pm and was snatched away in a white van. Melina was described as 5ft tall, weighing 100 pounds and being of Indian descent with brown hair and brown eyes.
In the initial police statement, before the nine-year-old was found dead, cops said: "The child was taken under circumstances that lead police to believe that they are in imminent danger of serious bodily harm and/or death."
Officials have not revealed if anybody has been charged in this case. The NYSP said they will hold a conference on Monday with more information about Melina's tragic death. Her father is the founder of an organic coffee brand called Gambella, according to the company's website.
The website said: "Luciano Frattolin is an experienced entrepreneur with a proven track record of building diverse, high-performance businesses.
"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 son of an Ethiopian mother and an Italian father, Luciano was born in the small, remote village of Gambella. With a childhood spent running between rows of crimson coffee buds on the Ethiopian family plantation, and the neoclassical architecture of his father's Milano, his vision of the world and his pursuits within, reflect these hyphenated cultures."
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