By Chelsey St-Pierre
The Suburban
June 18 at 2:30 PM UPDATE
The communities from Lasalle to Casselman Ontario are on edge, holding out hope for the safe return of Claire Bell, missing since Sunday June 15.
Authorities confirmed on Wednesday morning that Claire was seen alive with her mother in Casselman Ontario hours after they left their Lasalle home at 9:45 a.m. Sunday.
Claire’s mother, Rachel-Ella Todd, left her phone at home when she left with her daughter on a six-hour trajectory which police were not able to map out using geolocation. Instead, investigators have relied on alternative methods.
What is clear is that Todd entered a souvenir shop at 3:45 p.m. on Sunday not wearing shoes and had visible scratch marks on her legs. There, she told an employee that she did not know where she lost her daughter.
Todd has been in police custody since she reported her daughter missing at the gift shop. Police have been conducting air and ground searches without pause since Sunday afternoon.
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June 17 UPDATE
Quebec provincial police (SQ) are asking for the public’s assistance in finding Claire Bell, a three-year-old girl who was last seen in Montreal’s LaSalle borough.
Claire was last spotted on Saturday, June 14, at 11 a.m. near Newman Boulevard. According to police, the person caring for her at the time reported her missing on Sunday at 3:30 p.m.
Investigators believe Claire may now be in Coteau-du-Lac, in the Monteregie region, though her current whereabouts remain unknown.
Police have not issued an Amber Alert, stating that the situation does not meet the established criteria, but friends and family remain worried for her health and safety.
Claire is described as three feet tall, weighing about 35 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes.
The SQ released a video Monday afternoon stating that the last time Claire was seen by her mother was on Sunday at 9:45 a.m. in Lasalle. According to authorities – at 3 p.m., the mother presented herself at a store (in Coteaux du Lac) stating that she did not know where she lost her child.
Searches began immediately Sunday with multiple specialized units. Verifications were conducted at the Ontario-Quebec border, in Lasalle and in areas in between.
In a video shared to social media, SQ officer J-R Drolet, responded to the public question as to why there is no Amber Alert launched “The type of event that we are covering right now does not respond to the criteria for those types of alerts. We don’t have information at this time that leads us to believe that there is a kidnapping that represents an imminent danger for the child’s life. However, we have launched a media alert and we are counting on you (the public) to share that information across Quebec in order for as many people as possible to be alert and we are also asking persons living in proximity to this site (Coteaux du Lac) to be aware and observant of their surroundings,” the SQ agent stated.
SQ officer Drolet also said that the portrait is not clear at this time regarding the circumstances that led to the disappearance of the child in regards to the timeline communicated by the custodial parent.
The mother, 34-year old Rachel Todd, reported the child missing Sunday afternoon around 3:45 p.m. at a souvenir shop in Coteau-du-Lac. The mother told an employee that she lost her child and did not know where she was. The child was last seen in Lasalle at 9:45 a.m.
Earlier that day the mother posted a TikTok video, with the headline “I know more than you think” saying “You try that again and this is going to get ugly” while holding Claire in her arms. In the subtext, she wrote “Have you come up against a mother with nothing to lose?”. The video that circulated on social media has sent shockwaves through the community, concerned for the well being of little Claire. The SQ has not commented on the video.
On Monday afternoon, a dog matching the description of Claire’s dog was found dead on the side of Highway 30.
Police are searching for information about a grey 2007 Ford Escape with licence plate number K5O FVE. The vehicle has a “baby on board” sticker. Police are asking for the public to come forward with information if they saw the SUV between 9:45 a.m. – 3:45 p.m. Sunday.
On Tuesday, police confirmed that the mother has been arrested and charged with child abandonment. She will appear at the Salaberry-de-Valleyfield courthouse on Tuesday.
Anyone with information is asked to contact 911 or the SQ confidential criminal information center at 1-800-659-4264.