Mother of 3-year-old girl who went missing charged in Quebec with child abandonment
By Canadian Press on June 17, 2025.
MONTREAL — The mother of a three-year-old girl missing since Sunday has been charged with child abandonment, as Quebec police continue to search for the toddler.
Rachel-Ella Todd, 34, has been charged with one count of unlawful abandonment of a child. Claire Bell, 3, was last seen Sunday morning in Montreal’s LaSalle borough, and was reported missing at around 3 p.m. that day in Coteau-du-Lac, Que., about 50 kilometres to the west.
Todd appeared briefly in court on Tuesday morning in Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, Que., west of Montreal, and is scheduled to return on Wednesday. According to the charging document, the alleged offence is to have taken place in Quebec or Ontario on Sunday.
The search for the missing girl is taking place in several locations in the Montérégie region, including the Coteau-du-Lac area and near Highway 30 in nearby Vaudreuil-Dorion, Que., where a dog that may have belonged to the girl was found on Monday.
Provincial police spokesman Jean-Raphaël Drolet said in a social media video on Tuesday that searchers were going to focus on the Vaudreuil-Dorion area, located about 35 kilometres from the boundary with Ontario.
“It’s possible there are other areas that will be searched as well,” Drolet said. “We will move based on the information we have.”
Police released a video of Todd’s 2007 grey Ford Escape with Quebec licence plate K50 FVE and a ‘Baby on Board’ sticker on the right passenger side corner of the back window. They are asking anyone who might have spotted the vehicle between 9:45 a.m. and 3 p.m. on Sunday to come forward.
Provincial police say Claire Bell is three feet tall, has brown hair and 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 about her whereabouts is asked to contact police.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 17, 2025.
Sidhartha Banerjee, The Canadian Press
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would it be too much technology to somehow squeeze in a photo?