Witness who encountered mom of missing Montreal toddler speaks out
Claire Bell, 3, seen here moments after being found following a four-day search. (Source: Courtesy/Noovo Info)
The mother of a three-year-old Montreal girl who was found alive after going missing for four days pulled up to a farm in eastern Ontario the day she reported her daughter missing and was 'confused' and 'rambling,' according to witnesses.
Noovo Info spoke with one of them, who called 911 after later learning that the toddler was the subject of a vast search operation spanning two provinces.
The witness and his mother encountered the girl's mother, 34-year-old Rachel-Ella Todd, Sunday when she drove up to their farm in St. Albert, Ont. and acted in a strange manner, he said. The witness spoke to Noovo Info on the condition of anonymity because of recent criticism of his family in recent days on social media.
Their farm is about two kilometres from the location where the missing child was found Wednesday afternoon alone on the side of Highway 417 after being spotted by an Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) drone.
The witness said he didn't pay much attention to the mother's behaviour, adding that he sometimes encounters 'odd people.' It was only several days later — Wednesday morning — that the witness contacted police after seeing a post circulating on Facebook about the missing child and her mother.
'We don't spend our days in front of the television,' he said in an interview.
missing montreal girl
People gather to watch police from the Ontario Provincial Police and Surete du Quebec brief the media on the discovery of a three-year-old girl after she went missing on Sunday, in St. Albert, Ont., Wednesday, June 18, 2025. (Christopher Katsarov/The Canadian Press)
(Christopher Katsarov/The Canadian Press)
Police announced Wednesday morning that they had spoken to a farmer, describing her as an important witness in the case. That interview with police was crucial in officers finding the child on the side the highway hours later.
'There should have been an Amber Alert,' witness says
The witness said Thursday that authorities should have issued an Amber Alert to help locate the child sooner.
'There should have been an Amber Alert for Quebec and Ontario. We would have acted much faster! We don't care about the criteria, they should have issued it,' he said.
SQ search missing girl
Quebec provincial police officers seen during a search for a missing three-year-old girl, who was found in Ontario on June 19, 2025. (CTV News)
There have been several comments on social media about his and his mother's involvement in the case, he said, with some calling him a hero, while others argue he didn't act quickly enough. He emphasizes, however, that the important thing for him and his mother is that the child was found safe and sound.
Quebec provincial police have previously said the case didn't warrant an Amber Alert since it does not meet the necessary criteria of suspected abduction.
An Amber Alert is only issued when all three of the following criteria are met:
The police have reason to believe that the missing child (someone under 18 years of age) has been abducted;
The police have reason to believe that the physical safety or the life of the child is in serious danger;
The police have information that may help locate the child, the suspect and/or the suspect's vehicle.
Capt. Benoit Richard of the Sûreté du Québec (SQ) said in an interview Thursday that after reviewing every aspect of the child's disappearance, an Amber Alert was not the right call. 'The criteria was not met,' he said, adding that there was a lot of information already being shared in the news media, which ultimately led police to the girl in Ontario.
Police believe child was alone the entire time
According the investigation, investigators believe the young child was dropped off on the side of the road and left there, leaving police — and the public — wondering how she managed to survive with no food or water.
'For somebody that's been missing like that, a young child, a three-year-old, it's my first time, and I've been on the force for 32 years,' Richard said.
Benoit Richard
Captain Benoit Richard of the Surete du Quebec speaks to media after a three-year-old girl was found alive, in St. Albert, Ont., Wednesday, June 18, 2025. (Christopher Katsarov/The Canadian Press)
When the officer rescued her on Highway 417, he handed her pieces of mango and some Gatorade he had packed for himself to snack on during the search as it entered its fourth day Wednesday.
'She's still in the hospital. She's with her family. She's doing well, considering that she's been three days outside. She's dehydrated, but she's doing fine,' Richard said about the girl.
The investigation is ongoing and police could recommend the Crown lay additional charges against the mother, but for now, police are still just 'ecstatic' and relieved that the toddler was found safe and sound after everything she went through.
Highway 417
Highway 417 in Ontario, where a three-year-old girl who went missing last Sunday was found on Wednesday afternoon. (Source: Noovo Info)
After she was found, search crews were clapping and giving each other high-fives, as passersby honked their horns on the side of the road to salute the police's work.
The case 'had everybody in Quebec rooting for us, and everybody's happy, and everybody thinks that we made something good happen,' Richard added.
Comments made by the mother the day she reported her daughter missing had raised heightened concerns about the girl's wellbeing.
A video published on the mother's TikTok account on Sunday shows her holding her daughter in her arms, visibly angry.
'You try that again and this is going to get ugly,' Todd says in the video as her daughter looks into the camera.
The caption on the video says, 'Have you come up against a mother with nothing to lose????'
It's not clear who her remarks were directed at.
'It's almost a miracle' girl was found
A day after the toddler was rescued, many were still praising the work of police officers on both sides of the border, including Nancy Duncan, director of operations at the Missing Children's Network.
'The fact that we got this outcome after four days is — I want to almost say it's almost a miracle. We were ecstatic, and it's what we all hoped for,' she said in an interview Thursday.
Nancy Duncan
Nancy Duncan, director of operations at the Missing Children's Network. (CTV News)
More than 150 police officers from the SQ and the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) were part of the search involving helicopters, drones and ground search crews across a vast area spanning two provinces.
Duncan, who has been at the network for 20 years, said the police's efforts were nothing short of 'extraordinary.'
'It's hard. It's not something that everybody can do, and they have a certain sense of empathy in keeping the family as the priority, and the child, so it's quite nice to see,' she said in an interview.
The girl's father, Matthew Bell, reacted on Instagram Wednesday night, thanking those who helped find his daughter.
'Thank you for everyone's help. [sic] Please allow me and my family to take this time with our girl,' he posted.
While the young girl recovers from the ordeal, her mother remains behind bars after being charged with child abandonment.
She is scheduled to return to court Friday to set a date for a bail hearing, likely next week.
With files from CTV News' Rob Lurie and Noovo Info
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