Latest news with #RachelEllaTodd
Globe and Mail
2 hours ago
- Globe and Mail
Missing three-year-old Montreal girl found alive in Ontario, Quebec police say
A three-year-old Montreal girl reported missing on Sunday by her mother was found alive in eastern Ontario on Wednesday afternoon, minutes after her mother appeared in court while facing charges of child abandonment. The Sûreté du Québec and Ontario Provincial Police confirmed in a Wednesday evening press conference that the girl was found around 3 p.m. along Highway 417, near St. Albert, Ont. She was alone but conscious and able to speak with officers, and is now doing 'well' after being examined by a medical team in hospital, OPP Staff Sergeant Shaun Cameron said. Ontario police used a drone to spot the little girl after receiving reports that she and her mother, 34-year-old Rachel-Ella Todd, were seen earlier in nearby Casselman, Ont. on Sunday. Officers following the drone reached the girl soon after. It was a moment of elation for the forces who had been searching tirelessly since Sunday. Around 150 Sûreté du Québec officers, as well as trained volunteers, were combing the Montérégie region, near where Ms. Todd walked into a souvenir store on Sunday afternoon and told employees she had lost her daughter. 'This is why we become police,' Staff Sgt. Cameron said. Many questions remain about the circumstances around the girl's alleged abandonment and whether she has been on her own since Sunday afternoon, but police declined to comment on an active investigation. Ms. Todd remained in custody Wednesday after appearing in a court in Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, Que., wearing a purple T-shirt and handcuffs on her hands and feet. She was arrested on Monday and charged with unlawful abandonment of a child. Prosecutors have objected to her release on the grounds that she poses a danger to the public. Because evidence continues to come in, a possible bail hearing won't be discussed until her next court date on Friday. The accused does not have a criminal record. The alleged offence took place Sunday in Quebec or Ontario, according to the charging document. Shortly before, Ms. Todd posted a disturbing TikTok video while holding the girl: 'You try that again, and this is going to get ugly,' she said, visibly angry. A caption read, 'Have you ever faced a mother who has nothing left to lose?' It is not clear who she is addressing. Police have since found the remains of a dog believed to have been with the girl when she went missing, near the store where her mother reported the disappearance. Police had been on the lookout for a long-haired chihuahua with reddish-brown fur. Police have released video of Ms. Todd's 2007 grey Ford Escape, with a 'Baby on Board' sticker on the right passenger-side corner of the rear window. Anyone who might have seen the vehicle between 9:45 a.m. and 3 p.m. Sunday is asked to come forward. Before the sighting of the girl in Ontario, she had been last seen at 9:45 a.m. on Sunday in their apartment building in LaSalle. The girl's father, Matthew Bell, 35, had shared pleas on social media for the public to help find his daughter. The professional chef did not respond to a request for comment on Wednesday but posted a message of gratitude online. 'She has been found!!!' Mr. Bell wrote on Instagram. 'Thank you to everyone… Please allow me and my family to take this time with our girl.' Crown prosecutor Lili Prévost-Gravel said some members of Ms. Todd's family were listening to Wednesday's hearing online. Ms. Prévost-Gravel, asked in a scrum after the hearing whether she still believed Ms. Todd posed a danger to the public, said, 'Yes, for sure,' adding that she could not explain why because the evidence was protected. 'It's hard for a mother to work on that kind of case, but we have to do our job and keep the public safe,' she said. The fact that the girl had been found alive was greeted with relief across Quebec. Premier François Legault called it 'beautiful news.' With reports from The Canadian Press
Daily Mail
3 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Miracle as missing toddler is found hundreds of miles away from home in incredible rescue
A little girl who had been missing for three days was found wandering along the side of a highway in Ontario on her own after her mother was charged with child abandonment. Three-year-old Claire Bell vanished from near her Montreal home on Sunday, sparking a frantic search and rescue operation. About 3pm Wednesday a drone operated by the Ontario Provinicial Police cited little Clare, walking along the side of Highway 417 by herself. Officers rushed to the scene and were able to pick her up, unharmed. She was taken to a nearby hospital for further examination. Éloïse Cossette, a spokesperson with the Sûreté du Québec, said: 'She was speaking with the police officer, she was alive. We provided some first aid, water, and food.' 'The priority is just to make sure she is okay.' Claire's mother, 34-year-old Rachel-Ella Todd, faced court minutes before her daughter was found, charged with child abandonment. Todd was arrested and charged on Monday evening, a day after Claire vanished. Her case has been adjourned until Friday and police are trying to track down a woman who works on a farm who may have met Todd prior to her daughter's disappearance. 'This woman would have met the suspect Sunday between 9:45 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. during the day, so she is an important witness,' Cossette said. On the day her daughter vanished, Todd shared a video on TikTok of herself holding little Claire in her arms, telling the camera: 'Try that again, and this is going to get ugly.' She captioned the video: 'Have you come up against a mother with nothing to lose?' along with the hashtags 'narcissist' and 'threat.' Police claim that hours after her daughter was last seen at 9.45am on Sunday, Todd parked her car and rushed into a store in Coteau-du-Lac to say that she had lost her daughter. On Tuesday police had asked people to keep an eye out for a long-haired, reddish-brown chihuahua who may have been with Claire. Hours later, a dog matching that description was found dead near Highway 20 and Highway 30. Authorities are expected to hold a press conference later on Wednesday to discuss the case. 'All I can tell you right now is we're happy that she's alive. It's the best scenario possible,' Cossette said. Premier François Legault also weighed in after her safe return, writing on X: 'What a relief and joy to learn that little Claire Bell has been found safe and sound.'
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
Three-year-old Quebec girl missing since Sunday found alive by police in Ontario
MONTREAL — A three-year-old Montreal girl who was reported missing on Sunday has been found alive by police in Ontario. Police have been searching for Claire Bell since Sunday afternoon, after her mother allegedly entered a store west of Montreal and told the staff she couldn't find her child. The three-year-old's mother, Rachel-Ella Todd, 34, was later charged with unlawful abandonment of a child. The little girl was spotted by an Ontario Provincial Police drone around 3 p.m. Wednesday, alone along Highway 417 near St. Albert, Ont. Quebec Sgt. Éloïse Cossette says the girl was conscious and able to speak with officers, but there was no immediate word on her physical condition. In a post on X, Ontario Provincial Police said the little girl was "found alive and is well." "She is being examined by medical personnel as a precaution." Quebec and Ontario police are expected to hold a joint news conference later on Wednesday. The child was last seen around 9:45 a.m. on Sunday on Newman Boulevard in Montreal's LaSalle borough, and was reported missing at around 3:30 p.m. in Coteau-du-Lac, Que., about 50 kilometres to the west. Police said the girl's mother, Rachel-Ella Todd, parked her vehicle outside a store and went inside and told staff that she didn't know where her daughter was. After days of searching, investigators got a major clue earlier Wednesday. Investigators in Quebec were able to establish the girl and her mother had been spotted alive about 2 p.m. in the Casselman and St. Albert area on Sunday. Police sought the public's help to figure out where Todd was on Sunday between 2 p.m. and her return to Quebec around 3:30 p.m. Todd appeared before a judge on Tuesday by video from a police station, represented by a legal-aid lawyer. She was back in court briefly on Wednesday when the case was put off until Friday, at which point a decision will be taken on a bail hearing. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 18, 2025. Sidhartha Banerjee, The Canadian Press
CTV News
5 hours ago
- CTV News
Missing Montreal girl, 3, found in eastern Ontario
A Surete du Quebec police car is seen at their headquarters in Montreal, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christinne Muschi Quebec provincial police say a missing three-year-old girl from Montreal was found alive in eastern Ontario. The girl last seen on Sunday at approximately 9:45 a.m. in LaSalle, a borough of Montreal, according to police. She was found in St. Albert, Ont. Wednesday afternoon, police say. The toddler's mother has been arrested. Rachel-Ella Todd, 34, appeared in court on Monday evening to be charged with child abandonment. CTV News Ottawa has removed the toddler's name and identifying information from this article.
Globe and Mail
10 hours ago
- Globe and Mail
Quebec police seek important witness in case of missing three-year-old Montreal girl
Quebec provincial police say they are seeking an important witness in the case of three-year-old Claire Bell of Montreal, who has been missing since Sunday. Police are looking for a woman who worked and lived on a farm, and who they say met the toddler's 34-year-old mother some time on Sunday between 9:45 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. Police say the woman speaks both English and French, wore an apron with the word 'abondance' across the front and could be in either in southwestern Quebec or Ontario. Police allege that Rachel-Ella Todd parked her vehicle outside a store in Coteau-du-Lac, west of Montreal, on Sunday afternoon, went inside and told staff that she didn't know where her daughter Claire was. Provincial police found a dead dog on Monday that looked like a family pet that was also missing. Todd has been charged with one count of unlawful abandonment of a child.
