A 9-year-old girl from Canada, Melina Galanis Frattolin, was found dead on Sunday afternoon in upstate New York. This happened just hours after her father reported that she had been kidnapped. But police later said there was no real abduction.

Melina’s body was discovered in Ticonderoga, New York. That’s about 30 miles from Lake George, where her father had first said she was last seen.

Earlier on Sunday, police had issued an Amber Alert. They believed she was in “imminent danger” of being harmed or even killed.

FATHER’S ACCOUNT HAD INCONSISTENCIES

Melina’s father, 45-year-old Luciano Frattolin, called the Warren County Sheriff’s Office on Saturday night at 9:58 PM (local time). He said his daughter had disappeared and might have been kidnapped.

Both Melina and her father are Canadian citizens, the New York State Police (NYSP) confirmed.

At first, the Warren County Sheriff’s Office led the investigation. But police noticed that there were “inconsistencies in the father’s account of events and the timeline he provided,” according to the NYSP. Because of legal boundaries, the investigation was then handed over to New York State Police.

After reviewing the details, the NYSP said they found “no indication of an abduction.”

However, on Sunday morning, the State Police issued an Amber Alert for Melina about four hours after she was first reported missing. The alert included her description. It was later cancelled at 4:18 PM.

“The child was taken under circumstances that lead police to believe that they are in imminent danger of serious bodily harm and/or death,” the alert had said.

NO SUSPECT YET

The NYSP said that no suspect has been arrested so far. However, they also stated there is currently no danger to the general public.

In their official update, the police said, “There is no present threat to the public.”

The NYSP will hold a press conference on Monday to talk more about Melina’s death and the events that led up to it.

– Ends

With inputs from Reuters