Quebec toddler found alive and well after intensive 4-day search, police say

EDITOR'S NOTE: CBC has removed the name and photo of the child in this story. Now that the child is no longer missing, the identity is no longer in the public interest.

A three-year-old toddler was found alive and well in Ontario on Wednesday, four days after she went missing, police announced during an evening news conference.

"This is why we are police," said Sûreté du Québec Capt. Benoît Richard, expressing the joy in finding the little girl safe after deploying every effort to find her.

"Now we exhale as one, knowing she is safe," said acting Staff Sgt. Shaun Cameron with the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP).

The officers declined to provide details on her health, but said she is doing well.

Police say there are still few details they can release as the investigation is ongoing, but it was a drone that spotted the girl by the side of Highway 417, near St-Albert, Ont., about 150 kilometres west of Montreal, just after 2 p.m., according to Quebec provincial police.

OPP found the girl. She was alone but seemed healthy, police say. She is now being cared for in hospital and family of the girl are expected there as well, Richard said.

"Obviously we're relieved she was found," SQ spokesperson Éloïse Cossette told reporters earlier in the day, soon after the toddler was found. "This is the best possible outcome."

She'd said police were taking care of her and ensuring she had food and water.

Tips from public played a role in finding girl

It was the best-case-scenario end to a search that had included up to 200 officers and trained volunteers, police on horseback, a helicopter and ATVs. Richard said along with SQ officers and investigators, local police services throughout Quebec assisted in the search.

Cameron said several detachments of the OPP were involved, as well as air support, the canine unit and others.

Both Cameron and Richard thanked staff as well as the public for following the search closely online.

"Officers would not have located the little girl without critical information from the public," Cameron said, adding this case is a prime example of how tips can help "lead us to a positive outcome." 

Quebec Premier François Legault took to X soon after the little girl was found, thanking the SQ and their partners "who worked tirelessly to find her." He also thanked the OPP for assisting. 

"What a relief and joy to learn that little [girl] has been found safe and sound," he wrote. "I also want to acknowledge the contribution of all those who provided information to the police, enabling them to find the little girl alive."

The three-year-old was reported missing on Sunday, west of Montreal. 

Searchers had combed fields and searched buildings for three days in the hope of finding the toddler. Initially, the search focused on a wide swath around Coteau-du-Lac, Que., where the girl's mother had been on Sunday. 

As the search continued, however, police widened their net. Both the SQ and OPP said Wednesday there were reported sightings of the child  in Ontario.

The SQ also said they had located a witness who spoke to the girl's mother on a farm in the Montérégie region, near the Ontario border, on Sunday. 

Mother charged with child abandonment

The girl's mother, Rachel-Ella Todd, 34, was arrested on Monday and charged with child abandonment.

In handcuffs and a dark red T-shirt, she made a brief appearance at the Salaberry-de-Valleyfield courthouse on Wednesday.

She remains in custody and is scheduled to appear again June 20. 

The girl had last been seen at her residence near Newman Avenue in Montreal's LaSalle borough Sunday morning at around 9:45 a.m. ET. 

The SQ said the toddler's mother reported her missing 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.

The SQ's Cossette said investigators had received hundreds of tips for the case by early Wednesday. The search efforts had previously focused on areas near the junction of highways 30 and 20 as well as areas near Highway 40, west of the island of Montreal — an area police said is difficult to access due to dense vegetation.

According to Radio-Canada sources, Todd didn't seem lucid and made confused remarks when she met with investigators. Sources also told Radio-Canada an analysis of Todd's phone revealed searches for children's funeral urns, as was first reported by the Journal de Montréal on Tuesday.

A video posted by Todd in the hours before the girl's disappearance has surfaced on TikTok. Radio-Canada has confirmed the account belongs to her.

In the short video, Todd is holding the girl and speaks into the camera saying: "You try that again and this is going to get ugly." 

The caption reads: "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 they were not commenting on the video.

The charge against Todd alleges that she abandoned her daughter and put her life and health in danger. If found guilty, the maximum sentence is five years in prison.

On Monday evening, police announced they had found a dead brown Chihuahua around Highway 30 in the Vaudreuil-Dorion area. 

The dog matched the description of the one thought to be with the girl when she was last seen. As of Tuesday evening, police were still working to confirm that it's the same dog.

If you're affected by the details in this story, you can find mental health support resources in your province or territory.