Missing Quebec toddler found alive in Ontario on 3rd day of search

Claire ship's bell, the three-year-old missing since lord's day, has been found live in Ontario, according to Radio-Canada. 

A previous variation of this story follows to a lower place. 

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Police have expanded their search for Claire Bell to eastern Ontario. The three-year-old was reported missing on Sunday east of Montreal.

The Sûreté du Québec (SQ) and Ontario Provincial Police said there were reported sightings of the child in Ontario.

A vehicle that was used by the child's mother on the day of her disappearance was spotted in St. Albert, Ont., at approximately 2:30 p.m. On Sunday.

It is believed that the vehicle headed eastbound on Highway 417 using the Casselman on-ramp.

The vehicle is described as a grey Ford Escape with Quebec licence plate K50 FVE and a yellow "baby on board" sign in the rear window. 

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. 

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. 

In a call to the public issued earlier on Wednesday, police said the conversation between the mother and the witness was in English, and the witness wore an apron that had the French word "abondance" on the front.

"We want to know what was the purpose of the meeting," said SQ spokesperson Éloïse Cossette at the time.

It's the latest updates in a search that is now in its third day, with provincial police deploying a helicopter, ATVs and about 150 officers and trained volunteers to scour a large search area west of the Montreal island. 

Claire is three feet tall, weighs 35 pounds and has brown eyes and brown hair. According to police, she could be wearing grey pants and a long-sleeved shirt with pink around the collar and may be barefoot.

Search area for missing 3-year-old is 'very vast,' Quebec provincial police say

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 says 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.

On Wednesday, the SQ reiterated that the public can contribute to the search efforts by letting police know if they'd seen a grey Ford Escape between 9:45 a.m. And around 3:30 p.m. On Sunday.

"She left LaSalle and made it to Coteau-du-Lac — that's a very large zone," said Cossette.

"We're calling on potential witnesses in case they saw that vehicle on some isolated road or if they have security cameras in front of their homes or businesses or on their vehicles ... Ultimately, we want to recreate the entire route that the mother followed with her daughter."

According to Radio-Canada sources, Todd didn't seem lucid and made confused remarks which complicates the work of 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????"

Mother of missing Montreal toddler charged with child abandonment

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.

Journalist

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