Canadian Father Charged in Daughter's Drowning Death in New York

A nine-year-old girl from Canada, reported missing by her father, was found dead in a pond in upstate New York. Preliminary autopsy results released on Tuesday indicated the cause of death was drowning.

The girl's father, 45-year-old Luciano Frattolin of Montreal, has been charged with murder and concealing the corpse of his daughter, Melina Frattolin. He pleaded not guilty and is currently in a county jail.

Frattolin initially reported his daughter missing on Saturday night, claiming she disappeared from a parking lot near Lake George. He later told authorities that two men had forced her into a white van. However, investigators found inconsistencies in his account and determined there was no evidence of abduction.

The girl's body was discovered on Sunday afternoon in a pond in Ticonderoga, approximately 30 miles north of Lake George. According to the criminal complaint, Frattolin had concealed her body under a log. The preliminary autopsy classified the death as a homicide.

Police reported that the father and daughter had been vacationing in the U.S. since July 11 and were scheduled to return to Montreal that weekend. The girl resided with her mother, who has been estranged from Luciano Frattolin since 2019. The investigation into the girl’s death is ongoing.