A man whose nine-year-old daughter was found dead in a wooded pond after he reported that she had been abducted while they were vacationing in upstate New York was charged on Monday with murder.

Luciano Frattolin, 45, of Montreal is charged with murdering and concealing the corpse of his daughter, Melina Frattolin, according to New York State Police.

A not guilty plea was entered on his behalf at his arraignment on Monday, according to court officials.

Luciano Frattolin called 911 on Saturday night and later told authorities his daughter had been abducted from a parking lot near Lake George, a resort town in the Adirondack region, authorities said.

That led officials to issue an Amber Alert overnight to enlist the public's help in finding her.

But authorities said there were inconsistencies in the father’s account and that they concluded there was no evidence she had been taken.

Frattolin initially said he could not find his child after he stepped out of a wooded area at a parking lot near Lake George.

“During a subsequent interview, he then reports two unknown males forced her into a white van,” New York State Police Captain Robert McConnell said.

“That lead was thoroughly investigated and disproven.”

Surveillance video shows the father and daughter in another nearby resort town, Saratoga Springs, at about 5:30 pm on Saturday.

The girl spoke on the phone with her mother about an hour later and did not indicate she was under duress, police said.

Police believe Frattolin killed the girl after the phone call and before he made the 911 call.

Forest rangers found the girl’s body on Sunday afternoon in the shallows of a pond about 48 km north of Lake George, in Ticonderoga, authorities said.

The criminal complaint said Frattolin concealed her body under a log.

An autopsy has been scheduled.

The girl lived in Montreal with her mother, who has been estranged from Luciano Frattolin since 2019, police said. (AP)