Father in custody after 9-year-old girl found dead in upstate NY kidnapping hoax: police

A 9-year-old Canadian girl whose father had reported she had been kidnapped in upstate New York was found dead Sunday afternoon, with investigators saying she had not been abducted and they were now questioning inconsistencies in her dad's story, according to authorities.

The body of the girl, identified by the Warren County Sheriff's Office as Melina Galanis Frattolin, was discovered in Ticonderoga, New York, near the New York-Vermont border, about 15 miles from Lake George, where her father initially claimed she had been kidnapped on Saturday by a man driving a white van.

The report from the father led the New York State Police to issue an Amber Alert earlier on Sunday. A massive search was launched, involving State Police K-9 and aviation units, New York State Park Rangers, the Essex and Warren County sheriff's offices, the New York State Department of Conservation, and the Ticonderoga Police Department.

"As the case progressed, law enforcement identified inconsistencies in the father's account of events and the timeline he provided," according to a statement from the State Police.

The investigation was ongoing Sunday afternoon as State Police took over the investigation from the Warren County Sheriff's Office.

Police say the girl's father, 45-year-old Luciano Frattolin, also of Canada, had been arrested in his daughter's death. He was booked into the Essex County Jail in northern New York Sunday night.

There has been no word on what he has been charged with and state police did not disclose how Melina died.