MONTREAL — A new clue has surfaced in the case of a missing three-year-old Montreal girl.
Provincial police investigators say they have been receiving calls from members of the public who spotted Claire Bell on Sunday afternoon in Eastern Ontario, more than an hour before the girl’s mother reported her missing on the Quebec side of the border.
“We were able to establish that the young girl was spotted in Ontario, in the Casselman and St. Albert region at 2 p.m. on Sunday,” Sgt. Éloïse Cossette said.
Police say the girl’s mother, Rachel-Ella Todd, parked her vehicle outside a store in Coteau-du-Lac, west of Montreal, at around 3:30 p.m. on Sunday afternoon, went inside and told staff that she didn’t know where her daughter was.
Todd, 34, was charged Tuesday with unlawful abandonment of a child and appeared before a judge by video from a police station, represented by a legal-aid lawyer.
Cossette said investigators want to speak to anyone who saw her car between 2 p.m. and 3:25 p.m. on Sunday, before she entered the store in Coteau-du-Lac.
Police say Todd was driving a grey 2007 Ford Escape with a Quebec licence plate number of K50 FVE. There was also a “Baby on Board” sticker on the right passenger-side corner of the rear window of the car.
“If you were on Highway 417, Highway 40, Highway 30 or Highway 20 to Vaudreuil, we are confident that there are people who observed the vehicle in this area,” Cossette said.
The mother’s vehicle was also spotted at 3:25 p.m. in the Vaudreuil area. On Monday, police found a dog in the same region. It looked like a family pet, a long-haired chihuahua with reddish-brown fur, that was also reported missing.
Todd is expected back in court on Friday in Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, west of Montreal. According to the charging document, the alleged offence took place Sunday in Quebec or Ontario.
Todd does not have a criminal record, a Crown prosecutor told reporters.
Earlier Wednesday, provincial police had sought the public’s help in identifying an important witness. Police said they found a woman who worked on a farm and met Todd on Sunday.
Cossette said police have been able to piece together a rough timeline of Sunday’s events based on calls coming in from the public.
Meanwhile, police continued searching Wednesday for Claire, a resident of the Montreal borough of LaSalle, for a fourth day.
Provincial police said Claire Bell is three feet tall, has brown hair and brown eyes, and was last seen wearing a white long-sleeve shirt with a pink collar, grey pants and no shoes. Anyone who sees the girl or has information on her whereabouts is being asked to contact police.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 18, 2025.
Sidhartha Banerjee, The Canadian Press
