Quebec police find important witness in search for missing toddler

Antoni Nerestant · CBC News

· Posted: Jun 18, 2025 9:21 AM EDT | Last Updated: 5 minutes ago

In the hunt for three-year-old Claire Bell, Quebec provincial constabulary person located an important witness they accidental spoke to her mother connected Sunday — conscionable hours earlier she reported her kid missing. 

The child's mother, Rachel-Ella Todd, was arrested connected Monday and charged with kid abandonment.

The Sûreté du Québec (SQ) believes that a pistillate spoke to Claire's parent connected a workplace successful the Montérégie region, adjacent the Ontario border, some clip betwixt 9:45 a.m. and astir 3:30 p.m. on Sunday. 

In a telephone to the nationalist issued earlier connected Wednesday, constabulary said the speech betwixt the parent and the witnesser was in English, and the witnesser wore an apron that had the French connection "abondance" connected the front. Police added that this witnesser whitethorn besides cognize however to talk French.

"We privation to cognize what was the intent of the meeting," said SQ spokesperson Éloïse Cossette at the time.

Radio-Canada is reporting that the witnesser has been recovered and is gathering with investigators.

It's the latest update successful a hunt that is present successful its 3rd day, with provincial constabulary deploying a helicopter, ATVs and astir 150 constabulary officers and trained volunteers to scour a ample hunt country westbound of the Montreal island. 

WATCH | One-on-one interrogation with constabulary earlier connected Wednesdsay: 

Claire is three feet tall, weighs 35 pounds and has brownish eyes and brownish hair. According to police, she was past seen wearing grey pants and a long-sleeved garment with pinkish astir the collar and is apt barefoot.

She was past seen astatine her residence adjacent Newman Avenue successful Montreal's LaSalle borough Sunday greeting astatine astir 9:45 a.m. ET. The SQ, Quebec's provincial constabulary force, says Claire's parent reported her missing a fewer hours aboriginal astatine a store successful Coteau-du-Lac, astir 50 kilometres westbound of Montreal. 

Todd, who turned 34 connected the eve of Claire's disappearance, is expected to marque her 2nd quality astatine the Salaberry-de-Valleyfield courthouse connected Wednesday. 

An worker of the store said the woman drove her car into the parking batch and ran into the store successful a panic. CBC News is not identifying the employee because she is not authorized to talk connected behalf of the store. The worker mentioned that the pistillate said she'd mislaid her kid and couldn't retrieve what happened. Another worker past called 911.

On Wednesday morning, the SQ's Cossette said investigators had received hundreds of tips for the case.

The hunt efforts person been focused connected areas adjacent the junction of highways 30 and 20 arsenic good arsenic areas adjacent Highway 40, west of the land of Montreal — an country constabulary said is hard to entree owed to dense vegetation.

Don't effort to hunt for missing girl, constabulary tells public

Police are discouraging citizens from conducting their ain searches arsenic they mightiness destruct tracks and hamper the SQ's efforts. On Wednesday, the SQ reiterated that the nationalist tin lend to the hunt efforts by looking retired for the grey Ford Escape with the licence plate K50 FVE that the parent utilized betwixt 9:45 a.m. and astir 3:30 p.m. connected Sunday.

"She near LaSalle and made it to Coteau-du-Lac — that's a precise ample zone," said Cossette.

"We're calling connected imaginable witnesses successful lawsuit they saw that conveyance connected immoderate isolated roadworthy oregon if they have information cameras successful beforehand of their homes oregon businesses oregon connected their vehicles ... Ultimately, we privation to recreate the full way that the parent followed with her daughter."

According to Radio-Canada sources, Todd didn't look lucid and made confused remarks which complicates the enactment of investigators. Sources besides told Radio-Canada an investigation of Todd's telephone revealed searches for children's ceremonial urns, arsenic was archetypal reported by the Journal de Montréal on Tuesday.

A video posted by Todd successful the hours before Claire's disappearance has surfaced connected TikTok. Radio-Canada has confirmed the relationship belongs to her.

In the abbreviated video, Todd is holding Claire and speaks into the camera saying: "You effort that again and this is going to get ugly." 

The caption reads: "Have you travel up against a parent with thing to lose????"

WATCH | Details connected the probe into toddler's disappearance: 

CBC does not cognize the discourse successful which the video was filmed. Quebec provincial constabulary said they were not commenting connected the video.

The complaint against Todd alleges that she abandoned her girl and enactment her beingness and wellness successful danger. If recovered guilty, the maximum condemnation is five years successful prison.

On Monday evening, constabulary announced they had recovered a dormant brownish Chihuahua astir Highway 30 successful the Vaudreuil-Dorion area. 

The canine matched the statement of the 1 thought to beryllium with the miss erstwhile she was past seen. As of Tuesday evening, constabulary were still moving to corroborate that it's the aforesaid dog.

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