Police have arrested the father of a nine-year-old girl who was found dead less than 24 hours after he claimed his daughter had been abducted.
Melina Frattolin was reported missing on Saturday after her father Luciano Frattolin told New York State Police (NYSP) he thought his daughter had been kidnapped by someone in a white van.
But records now show that Frattolin, a 45-year-old coffee entrepreneur, is being held in Essex County Jail, according to local reports.
It is unclear if any charges have been filed, with police set to provide a further update Monday moring.
The distressing development comes after police issued a heartbreaking update saying ‘there is no indication that an abduction occurred’ and the little girl had been found dead.
‘The Warren County Sheriff’s Office initially led the investigation,’ NYSP said. ‘As the case progressed, law enforcement identified inconsistencies in the father’s account of events and the timeline he provided.’
NYSP issued an ‘amber alert’ on Saturday as a desperate search was launched for Melina, with cops saying at the time that she was believed to be in imminent danger.
The girl’s body was found yesterday after extensive searches, with investigators saying there was no indication that she was abducted and that there was ‘no threat to the public’.
New York State Police (NYSP) issued an ‘amber alert’ on Saturday for Melina Frattolin (pictured) after Luciano Frattolin, 45, told them he thought his daughter had been kidnapped
Luciano Frattolin (pictured), 45, told police he thought his daughter had been kidnapped, but they identified ‘inconsistencies’ in his story and she was later found dead
She was located in Ticonderoga, New York, around 45 miles south of where her father said she had last been seen.
Lake George, the spot where he said he last saw her, is a small waterside town in the Adirondack region of upstate New York around 60 miles north of Albany.
Frattolin was described as five feet tall, weighing 100 pounds and being of Indian descent with brown hair and brown eyes.
Police said that both she and her father are Canadian residents.
