Missing toddler found safe on side of road 90 miles from home — as cops reveal mom's alarming online search before her disappearance
A toddler was found alive and wandering on the side of a Canadian highway nearly 100 miles away from home after a frantic four-day search — as cops revealed her mother made several unsettling online searches, including for children's urns and funeral arrangements, before the tot's disappearance.
Claire Bell, 3, was discovered on an Ontario highway Wednesday afternoon, some 90 miles west of her home in Montreal, Sûreté du Québec, the provincial police, said.
The tot was seen Sunday morning leaving an emergency exit of her apartment building in Montreal's La Salle region with her mother, Rachel Todd, and her pet chihuahua, according to Le Journal de Montréal.
Advertisement
Claire Bell, 3, was found alive and wandering on the side of a highway nearly 100 miles away from home after a frantic four-day search.
Surete du Quebec
Her mother reported Bell missing later in the day in Coteau-du-Lac, about 60 miles away from where she was last seen.
A large-scale 'frantic' search was then carried out in Quebec and Ontario following the missing report, according to CTV.
Advertisement
Hundreds of police and civilians went searching for the missing tot, according to the Montreal Gazette.
Bell was found wandering alone on the side of Highway 417 in Ontario after a drone search was deployed over a witness tip, the outlet said.
A chihuahua that matched the description of one believed to be with Bell when she was last seen was found dead close to the souvenir shop where Todd reported her daughter missing.
Cops are now searching for an important witness who may have more information about what happened in the hours between when Bell was last seen and reported missing by her mother, the outlet reported.
Advertisement
Bell's mother, Rachel Todd, was arrested and charged with child abandonment.
Gilberto Mesquita – stock.adobe.com
The witness is a woman who lives on a farm either in the Montérégie region or in Ontario, speaks English and French, and had met the missing girl's mother on Sunday between when she was last seen and reported missing.
Todd, 34, was arrested and charged with child abandonment, according to the outlet.
Advertisement
Investigators allegedly found alarming online searches, including funeral arrangements and children's urns, when they looked through Todd's phone after her arrest, Le Journal de Montréal reported.
'This story really, really doesn't look good,' a police source working on the case told the outlet.
Court proceedings for Todd have been delayed until Friday, the Gazette said.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Post
6 hours ago
- New York Post
Missing toddler found safe on side of road 90 miles from home — as cops reveal mom's alarming online search before her disappearance
A toddler was found alive and wandering on the side of a Canadian highway nearly 100 miles away from home after a frantic four-day search — as cops revealed her mother made several unsettling online searches, including for children's urns and funeral arrangements, before the tot's disappearance. Claire Bell, 3, was discovered on an Ontario highway Wednesday afternoon, some 90 miles west of her home in Montreal, Sûreté du Québec, the provincial police, said. The tot was seen Sunday morning leaving an emergency exit of her apartment building in Montreal's La Salle region with her mother, Rachel Todd, and her pet chihuahua, according to Le Journal de Montréal. Advertisement Claire Bell, 3, was found alive and wandering on the side of a highway nearly 100 miles away from home after a frantic four-day search. Surete du Quebec Her mother reported Bell missing later in the day in Coteau-du-Lac, about 60 miles away from where she was last seen. A large-scale 'frantic' search was then carried out in Quebec and Ontario following the missing report, according to CTV. Advertisement Hundreds of police and civilians went searching for the missing tot, according to the Montreal Gazette. Bell was found wandering alone on the side of Highway 417 in Ontario after a drone search was deployed over a witness tip, the outlet said. A chihuahua that matched the description of one believed to be with Bell when she was last seen was found dead close to the souvenir shop where Todd reported her daughter missing. Cops are now searching for an important witness who may have more information about what happened in the hours between when Bell was last seen and reported missing by her mother, the outlet reported. Advertisement Bell's mother, Rachel Todd, was arrested and charged with child abandonment. Gilberto Mesquita – The witness is a woman who lives on a farm either in the Montérégie region or in Ontario, speaks English and French, and had met the missing girl's mother on Sunday between when she was last seen and reported missing. Todd, 34, was arrested and charged with child abandonment, according to the outlet. Advertisement Investigators allegedly found alarming online searches, including funeral arrangements and children's urns, when they looked through Todd's phone after her arrest, Le Journal de Montréal reported. 'This story really, really doesn't look good,' a police source working on the case told the outlet. Court proceedings for Todd have been delayed until Friday, the Gazette said.
Yahoo
11 hours ago
- Yahoo
AI image does not show French spy caught in Burkina Faso
'French spy has been captured by captain Ibrahim Traoré, president of Burkina Faso,' reads the caption accompanying a TikTok video posted on May 2, 2025. The post was shared more than 2,400 times. The video includes a static image that appears to show Burkina Faso's president standing next to a man wearing an army uniform, who has blood on his face and is holding his hands in the air. Several TikTok users have claimed that the man in the image is a French spy who was caught posing as a journalist by the name of Julien Moreau (seen here and here). This comes several months after four French nationals who had been held in Burkina Faso over espionage accusations were freed following more than a year of detention (archived here). The group was arrested in the capital, Ouagadougou, on December 1, 2023, and presented by the authorities as intelligence agents working for France's Directorate-General for External Security (archived here). They were released in December 2024, with French authorities thanking Morocco for mediation in the case. However, the claim that this image shows a captured French spy is false. A close look at the picture reveals several flaws commonly found in AI-generated images. For example, the writing on the man's army uniform is gibberish; it's not inscribed in French or any real language. Additionally, Traore's hands appear deformed. A reverse image search of the image led to the earliest occurrence of the claim we could find online: a YouTube video posted on May 1, 2025, seen here. In the caption, after a lengthy tale about a French man posing as a journalist who is then publicly confronted by Traore for being a spy, there is a disclaimer. 'This video is a work of fiction inspired by the life of Ibrahim Traoré,' the caption reads. 'The situations and dialogues depicted are entirely fictional.' Subsequent posts circulating on YouTube and TikTok do not contain any such disclaimers, leading users to believe the image and story is real. AFP Fact Check did not find any credible reports by international media on any French journalist being accused of espionage in Burkina Faso in May 2025. Several AI detection tools also considered the image to be AI-generated. Posts shared on social media with a similar claim that a French woman was caught spying in Burkina Faso were previously debunked by Euronews (archived here).
Axios
14 hours ago
- Axios
Aflac caught in string of cyberattacks on insurers
Aflac, a U.S. insurance provider that covers millions of policyholders, warned some of its customers' most sensitive data may have been stolen in a recent cyberattack. Why it matters: Aflac warned that a "sophisticated cybercrime group" was behind the intrusion and said many insurance providers are currently battling the same group. Driving the news: The insurance provider told investors in an SEC filing Friday that it detected unauthorized activity within hours on its networks on June 12. The incident didn't impact Aflac's operations and the company noted it also was not the victim of ransomware. Aflac said its initial investigation suggests that the hackers used social engineering techniques to gain access to the company's systems. From there, they likely stole an undetermined number of files from the systems, potentially including customers' claim information, health information, Social Security numbers and other highly sensitive personal details. Aflac is still investigating the scope of the breach and hired third-party investigators to assist in the matter. Between the lines: A source familiar with the investigation told Axios that the characteristics of the attack are consistent with those of the English-speaking cybercriminal gang Scattered Spider. Google's cybersecurity experts warned earlier this week that the cybercriminal gang was turning its attention to the insurance sector after a month-long hacking spree against retailers.
