Photo: Kinga Krzeminska / Moment / Getty Images
The Ticonderoga community will hold a candlelight vigil on Tuesday (July 22) for nine-year-old Melina Frattolin, who tragically passed away recently. The vigil, organized by local resident Bridgette Cruz, will take place at Percy Thompson Bicentennial Park at 8 p.m. Cruz, who did not know Melina personally, felt compelled to organize the event after hearing about the young girl's death and her father's subsequent arrest. "I just in my heart I just feel like it's something I have to do as a mother," Cruz said, according to CBS6 Albany.
Melina's father, Luciano Frattolin, is in custody and has been charged with second-degree murder and the concealment of a human corpse. According to NEWS10 ABC, he reported his daughter missing on Saturday (July 19), leading to an AMBER Alert. Melina's body was discovered on Sunday (July 20) in a pond in Ticonderoga. The father and daughter, residents of Montreal, Canada, had entered the United States on July 11 for a vacation.
The Ticonderoga and Schroon Lake communities are coming together to honor Melina's memory, with a vigil also planned in Schroon Lake. Reverend Lynnette Colden of the Schroon Lake Community Church expressed the community's grief, saying, "You didn’t have to be a direct connection to her or the event to feel your heart break for a nine-year-old girl." The vigil aims to offer a space for mourning and remembrance for Melina's short life.