MONTREAL — A three-year-old Montreal girl who was reported missing on Sunday has been found alive by police in Ontario.
Police have been searching for Claire Bell since Sunday afternoon, after her mother allegedly entered a store west of Montreal and told the staff she couldn't find her child. The three-year-old's mother, Rachel-Ella Todd, 34, was later charged with unlawful abandonment of a child.
The little girl was spotted by an Ontario Provincial Police drone around 3 p.m. Wednesday, alone along Highway 417 near St. Albert, Ont.
Quebec Sgt. Éloïse Cossette says the girl was conscious and able to speak with officers, but there was no immediate word on her physical condition.
In a post on X, Ontario Provincial Police said the little girl was "found alive and is well."
"She is being examined by medical personnel as a precaution."
Quebec and Ontario police are expected to hold a joint news conference later on Wednesday.
The child was last seen around 9:45 a.m. on Sunday on Newman Boulevard in Montreal's LaSalle borough, and was reported missing at around 3:30 p.m. in Coteau-du-Lac, Que., about 50 kilometres to the west.
Police said the girl's mother, Rachel-Ella Todd, parked her vehicle outside a store and went inside and told staff that she didn't know where her daughter was.
After days of searching, investigators got a major clue earlier Wednesday. Investigators in Quebec were able to establish the girl and her mother had been spotted alive about 2 p.m. in the Casselman and St. Albert area on Sunday.
Police sought the public's help to figure out where Todd was on Sunday between 2 p.m. and her return to Quebec around 3:30 p.m.
Todd appeared before a judge on Tuesday by video from a police station, represented by a legal-aid lawyer. She was back in court briefly on Wednesday when the case was put off until Friday, at which point a decision will be taken on a bail hearing.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 18, 2025.
Sidhartha Banerjee, The Canadian Press
