Police thank public after missing Quebec toddler found in Ontario
A three-year-old girl from Montreal missing since Sunday was found alive and well near an Ontario highway on Wednesday, and police say 'critical information from the public' played a significant role. 'This is a prime example of how every tip, every piece of information can help lead us to a positive outcome,' said Acting Staff Sgt. Shaun Cameron of the Ontario Provincial Police at a joint news conference with Sûreté du Québec.
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3 hours ago
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Quebec toddler found alive and well after intensive 4-day search, police say
Claire Bell, the three-year-old missing since Sunday, was found alive and well in Ontario on Wednesday, police announced during an evening news conference hours later. "This is why we are police," said Sûreté du Québec Capt. Benoît Richard, expressing the joy in finding the little girl safe after deploying every effort to find her. "Now we exhale as one, knowing she is safe," said acting Staff Sgt. Shaun Cameron with the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP). The officers declined to provide details on her health, but said she is doing well. Police say there are still few details they can release as the investigation is ongoing, but it was a drone that spotted Claire by the side of Highway 417, near St-Albert, Ont., about 150 kilometres west of Montreal, just after 2 p.m., according to Quebec provincial police. OPP found the girl. She was alone but seemed healthy, police say. She is now being cared for in hospital and family of the girl are expected there as well, Richard said. "Obviously we're relieved she was found," SQ spokesperson Éloïse Cossette told reporters earlier in the day, soon after Claire was found. "This is the best possible outcome." She'd said police were taking care of her and ensuring she had food and water. It was the best-case-scenario end to a search that had included up to 200 officers and trained volunteers, police on horseback, a helicopter and ATVs. Richard said along with SQ officers and investigators, local police services throughout Quebec assisted in the search. Cameron said several detachments of the OPP were involved, as well as air support, the canine unit and others. Both Cameron and Richard thanked staff as well as the public for following the search closely online. "Officers would not have located the little girl without critical information from the public," Cameron said, adding this case is a prime example of how tips can help "lead us to a positive outcome." WATCH | Police explain how Claire was found: Quebec Premier François Legault took to X soon after the little girl was found, thanking the SQ and their partners "who worked tirelessly to find her." He also thanked the OPP for assisting. "What a relief and joy to learn that little Claire Bell has been found safe and sound," he wrote. "I also want to acknowledge the contribution of all those who provided information to the police, enabling them to find the little girl alive." The three-year-old was reported missing on Sunday, west of Montreal. Searchers had combed fields and searched buildings for three days in the hope of finding Claire. Initially, the search focused on a wide swath around Coteau-du-Lac, Que., where Claire's mother had been on Sunday. As the search continued, however, police widened their net. Both the SQ and OPP said Wednesday there were reported sightings of the child in Ontario. The SQ also said they had located a witness who spoke to Claire's mother on a farm in the Montérégie region, near the Ontario border, on Sunday. Mother charged with child abandonment Claire's mother, Rachel-Ella Todd, 34, was arrested on Monday and charged with child abandonment. In handcuffs and a dark red T-shirt, she made a brief appearance at the Salaberry-de-Valleyfield courthouse on Wednesday. She remains in custody and is scheduled to appear again June 20. Claire had last been seen at her residence near Newman Avenue in Montreal's LaSalle borough Sunday morning at around 9:45 a.m. ET. The SQ said Claire's mother reported her missing a few hours later at a store in Coteau-du-Lac, about 50 kilometres west of Montreal. An employee of the store said the woman drove her car into the parking lot and ran into the store in a panic. The SQ's Cossette said investigators had received hundreds of tips for the case by early Wednesday. The search efforts had previously focused on areas near the junction of highways 30 and 20 as well as areas near Highway 40, west of the island of Montreal — an area police said is difficult to access due to dense vegetation. According to Radio-Canada sources, Todd didn't seem lucid and made confused remarks when she met with investigators. Sources also told Radio-Canada an analysis of Todd's phone revealed searches for children's funeral urns, as was first reported by the Journal de Montréal on Tuesday. A video posted by Todd in the hours before Claire's disappearance has surfaced on TikTok. Radio-Canada has confirmed the account belongs to her. In the short video, Todd is holding Claire and speaks into the camera saying: "You try that again and this is going to get ugly." The caption reads: "Have you come up against a mother with nothing to lose????" CBC does not know the context in which the video was filmed. Quebec provincial police said they were not commenting on the video. The charge against Todd alleges that she abandoned her daughter and put her life and health in danger. If found guilty, the maximum sentence is five years in prison. On Monday evening, police announced they had found a dead brown Chihuahua around Highway 30 in the Vaudreuil-Dorion area. The dog matched the description of the one thought to be with the girl when she was last seen. As of Tuesday evening, police were still working to confirm that it's the same dog. If you're affected by the details in this story, you can find mental health support resources in your province or territory.
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
Police thank public after missing Quebec toddler found in Ontario
A three-year-old girl from Montreal missing since Sunday was found alive and well near an Ontario highway on Wednesday, and police say 'critical information from the public' played a significant role. 'This is a prime example of how every tip, every piece of information can help lead us to a positive outcome,' said Acting Staff Sgt. Shaun Cameron of the Ontario Provincial Police at a joint news conference with Sûreté du Québec.
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Yahoo
Ontario school bus driver who wore schoolgirl's uniform and had 'Lolita's Line' sign removed from job
A school bus driver who wore a schoolgirl's uniform while driving a vehicle with a 'Lolita's Line' sign in the window will no longer be working for the York Catholic District School Board, a spokesperson has told National Post. The incident stems from a video that was posted to social media after being filmed outside St. Michael the Archangel Catholic Elementary School in Vaughan, Ont., just north of Toronto. In the video, several people are speaking to the driver, who briefly stands in front of the bus dressed in a short pink skirt, stockings and a frilly shirt, before entering the vehicle. 'You picked up the kids dressed like that?' one person in the video asks, to which the driver answers: 'Yep.' Another asks several times: 'Why do you call your bus the Lolita Line?' The driver then closes the bus door and drives off. Lolita is the title of a 1955 novel by Vladimir Nabokov, in which the narrator, using the name Humbert Humbert, describes his obsession with a 12-year-old girl, Dolores Haze, whom he later kidnaps and sexually abuses after becoming her stepfather. A statement from the York Catholic District School Board shared by a board spokesperson says the board 'is aware of a social media video filmed at St. Michael the Archangel CES.' It notes that third-party companies provide school busing in Ontario. YCDSB staff immediately brought this matter to the bus driver's employer. The company quickly addressed this situation with its employee, and the driver will no longer provide busing to and from the school,' the statement says. 'The company has assured the YCDSB that this would not be an issue at any YCDSB school going forward.' It adds: 'All bus drivers in Ontario are required to pass a Vulnerable Sector Check with their local police department and they receive extensive training before transporting students. The YCDSB followed all of its child protection procedures after this incident.' National Post has reached out to Landmark Student Transportation, the company listed on the side of the bus, but has not yet received a reply. Ontario education minister steps in to prevent erasure of Sir John A. Macdonald, Ryerson and Dundas from Toronto schools Why is the turnover rate so high for Alberta school bus drivers? Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark and sign up for our daily newsletter, Posted, here.
