Police find dog believed to belong to missing 3-year-old Montreal girl as search continues

Quebec provincial police have deployed helicopters, drones, and ground search crews in the search for a three-year-old girl who was last seen in Montreal.

Quebec provincial police have found a dog they believe was with a three-year-old girl when she went missing in Montreal’s LaSalle borough on Sunday.

In a statement to reporters early Monday evening, Jean-Raphaël Drolet, a spokesperson with the Sûreté du Québec (SQ), said officers found a dead dog on the side of Highway 30 in Vaudreuil-Dorion at around 2 p.m. and that it matches the description of the brown, long-haired chihuahua belonging to the missing toddler, Claire Bell.

Officers are canvassing the area where the animal was found as the search was mostly suspended after sunset Monday. The air and ground search by police will continue Tuesday morning.

The SQ had deployed helicopters, drones, and ground search crews in the search for Bell, who was last seen on Sunday at 9:45 a.m. near Newman Boulevard.

Her mother reported her missing at 3:30 p.m. in Coteau-du-Lac in the Montérégie region, almost an hour away.

Drolet said the mother “came [into a store] to say that they didn’t have the child anymore, that they lost her; they didn’t know where she was.”

He said police had set up a command post Coteau-du-Lac, though search efforts expanded to Vaudreuil-Dorion after the family dog was located.

An Amber Alert has not been issued, as the Sûreté du Québec (SQ) says it does not meet the necessary criteria of suspected abduction.

All the same, the force says her family and friends have reason to fear for her health and safety and have received assistance from police in Ontario and search and rescue volunteers in the search.

“It’s worrying. It’s a three-year-old child. It’s a young child. We all know how vulnerable they are,” said Drolet.

Mother driving Ford SUV

There are still unanswered questions about the mother’s state of health when the child went missing. She was questioned by investigators Monday afternoon.

Meanwhile, the SQ said the mother was driving a grey 2007 Ford Escape with a yellow “Baby on board” sign in English hanging in the rear window and the licence plate K50 FVE.

Police released a video of the vehicle to the public Monday afternoon in the hopes that it might jog people’s memory and help investigators with the timeline of events.

Bell is described as 0.90 m (3 ft) in height and 16 kg (35 lb) in weight.

She has brown hair and brown eyes. She speaks English.

She was last seen wearing a white long-sleeved shirt with a pink collar, gray pants and no shoes.

Camila Alvez, who lives near the family home in LaSalle, says she never really noticed the girl or her dog.

However, she says she witnessed police searching “every apartment” for them.

“I talked with the police by the entrance [of the building] last night,” she said. “They [the police] were searching door to door. It was horrible.”

Police are asking residents in LaSalle and Coteau-du-Lac to check the buildings on their property.

Volunteers helping police in the search

Dany Chaput, Chairman of the Board of the search and rescue group Recherche Sauvetage Estrie, said a team of about 20 volunteers were deployed Sunday night to help police in their search for the girl and more volunteers are continuing their efforts on Monday.

The group, which assisted police officers in about 70 searches in Quebec last year, has been canvassing about 10 kilometres of Highway 20 in Coteau-du-Lac, on both sides of the road and in wooded areas.

Chaput said Monday his team is praying for a happy ending.

Anyone with information on Claire Bell’s whereabouts is asked to call 911 or the Sûreté du Québec’s confidential criminal information centre at 1-800-659-4264.

No Amber Alert

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.