9-Year-Old Melina Frattolin's Life in Photos Shared by Her Father Before Her Tragic Death

What started as a desperate search for a missing child ended in horror when police found the body of 9-year-old Melina Frattolin hidden in a remote pond — and arrested her father soon after.

On Saturday, July 19, 2025, around 10:00 p.m., Warren County 911 received a frantic call from a man reporting his daughter missing in the area of Exit 22 on Interstate-87 Northway in Lake George, New York.

The caller identified himself as Luciano Frattolin, 45, and said his daughter, Melina, might have been abducted. Authorities responded swiftly.

An Amber Alert was issued in the early hours of Sunday morning, warning the public to be on the lookout for a white van possibly connected to the child's disappearance. Phones across eastern New York lit up with the alert, drawing immediate public attention to the case.

Melina, a Canadian citizen from Montreal, had entered the United States with her father on July 11 for what was supposed to be a vacation. She lived full-time with her mother, and her July 19 return to Canada was planned so she'd be back in her mom's care.

Police added that Melina's parents had been estranged since 2019. Surveillance footage placed her with her father in Saratoga Springs, New York, at around 5:30 p.m. on July 19.

She later spoke to her mother on the phone at approximately 6:30 p.m., sounding calm and giving no hint of any distress. Just a few hours later, she was reported missing.

Luciano initially told investigators he lost sight of Melina after stepping out of a wooded area near a parking lot close to Lake George, a popular resort town in the Adirondack region.

According to reports, during a subsequent interview, Luciano claimed that two unknown men had forced his daughter into a white van. However, New York State Police revealed that the lead was thoroughly investigated and ultimately disproven.

The search for Melina intensified quickly. Multiple agencies, including local and state police, forest rangers, and specialized K-9 and air units, joined forces. Authorities focused their search on areas in and around Lake George, based on Luciano's claims.

However, by Sunday afternoon, State Police announced there was no indication that an abduction had occurred and began to cast doubt on Luciano's account.

Confusion deepened when the location of the search shifted to Ticonderoga, about an hour north of Lake George. Investigators determined Luciano had recently visited the area.

At approximately 1:50 p.m. on Sunday, July 20, New York State Forest Rangers made a grim discovery — Melina's body was found in the shallow waters of a remote pond about 30 miles north of Lake George.

According to the criminal complaint, her body had been concealed under a log. The Amber Alert was canceled at 4:18 p.m. that same afternoon. Questions surrounding Melina's disappearance then turned to something far darker.

Authorities revealed that Melina's father had made inconsistent statements to police from the outset. Instead, state police alleged that Luciano murdered Melina and left her body by the pond.

Investigators believe that sometime after Melina's final phone call with her mother and before the 911 call was made, she was murdered.

On July 21, 2025, Luciano was taken into custody and charged with murder in the second degree and concealment of a human corpse. He was taken to the Essex County Correctional Facility and appeared in Ticonderoga Town Court.

At his arraignment on Monday, a not guilty plea was entered on Luciano's behalf, according to court officials. It was not immediately clear if he had retained an attorney or entered a plea personally.

The public defender's office assigned to defend Luciano did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Police noted that Luciano had no prior criminal or domestic violence history. An autopsy to determine Melina's cause of death was scheduled for July 21.

The heartbreaking case has captured public attention and sparked an outpouring of grief and outrage online. One netizen commented, "Simply why bro."

Another wrote, "So darn sad!! 😢😢😢😭this beautiful soul [didn't] deserve it." A third echoed the disbelief shared by many, "Makes no sense! For [God's] sake WHY?????"

Melina's story has captured public attention because of the innocence lost and the unimaginable betrayal at its core. As the legal process moves forward, her name remains a symbol of a tragedy that no one can fully make sense of.