The mother of Claire Bell, the three-year-old girl reported missing on Sunday, was arrested and charged with child abandonment late on Monday.
Rachel Todd, who turned 34 on the eve of Claire’s disappearance, is scheduled to appear in court again today in Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, Que.
The charge alleges that she abandoned Claire and put her life and health in danger. If found guilty, the maximum sentence is five years in prison.
A video posted by Todd in the hours before Bell’s disappearance has also surfaced on TikTok. Radio-Canada has confirmed the account belongs to her.
In the short video, Todd is holding Claire and can be heard saying: “You try that again and this is going to get ugly.”
The caption says, “Have you come up against a mother with nothing to lose????”
CBC does not know the context in which the video was filmed. Quebec provincial police said it is not commenting on the video.
The search for the missing toddler was still underway on Tuesday morning, according to Sgt. Jean-Raphaël Drolet, with a focus on Coteau-du-Lac, Highway 20 and Highway 30. According to the charge sheet, prosecutors believe Todd abandoned Claire in that area.
Drolet indicated that police might consider other search areas depending on the information they obtain.
The toddler was last seen Sunday morning at her and Todd’s home in LaSalle, a borough of Montreal.
According to police, Bell was reported missing by Todd a few hours later at a store in Coteau-du-Lac, about 50 kilometres west of Montreal.
An employee of the store said the woman drove her car into the parking lot and ran into the store in a panic. CBC News is not identifying the employee because she is not authorized to speak on behalf of the store.
The employee said the woman said she’d lost her child and couldn’t remember what happened. Another employee then called 911.
On Monday evening, police announced they were also searching around Highway 30 in the Vaudreuil-Dorion area where a brown Chihuahua was found dead.
The dog matched the description of the one thought to be with the girl when she was last seen. Police are still working to confirm that it’s the same dog.
According to police, Claire was last seen at her residence near Newman Avenue in Montreal’s LaSalle borough Sunday morning, around 9:45 a.m. ET. The girl is three feet tall, weighs 35 pounds and has brown eyes and brown hair.
She was last seen wearing grey pants and a long-sleeved shirt with pink around the collar, police said. She’s likely barefoot, police added.
Investigators are asking the public to reach out if they spotted the vehicle with the licence plate K50 FVE between 9:45 a.m. ET and 3 p.m. ET Sunday. The vehicle also has a yellow “Baby on board” sticker on the top right corner of the rear windshield.
If you’re affected by the details in this story, you can find mental health support resources in your province or territory.
