8 Year Old Victoria “Tori” Stafford Missing Since 4/8/09 in Ontario, Canada

[pink angel]

O/T we have another one missing 

Police Launch Huge Hunt For Missing 12-Year-Old Girl
Tuesday May 26, 2009
CityNews.ca Staff
As police north of the city look for clues to where Tori Stafford may be, another manhunt has begun in the city. And this time the missing child is just 12 years of age.

Her name is Stephanie Rotman and what started off as a normal day for her family has quickly escalated into one of fear, worry and frantic searching.

The girl left her Bellamy Rd. home around 8:30am Tuesday morning, heading to John McCrae Senior Public School at 431 McCowan Rd.

She never arrived.

Her family tells police that their daughter has never gone missing before and that it's totally out of character for her to disappear without a trace or to miss her regular classes.

Police are scouring the area for her and are preparing to release her picture to the media so they can help in the hunt. We'll add that photo as soon as it's available.

Stephanie is described as:

White,
5'3",
Slim,
Brown hair past her shoulders,
Grey shorts with an orange stripe down the side,
Black T-shirt with a bumblebee and flowers on the front.
Multi-tone green backpack
She was also wearing Nike high-tops with a white shoelace in one sneaker and a black coloured lace in the other.

If you think you know where she is, call (416) 808-4300 and let police know.

http://www.citynews.ca/news/news_34861.aspx

Let her be found soon...that's two people missing in Toronto..right.  The 19 year old reservist and now Stephanie Rotman.

No Amber Alert for her either. ::shakes head::

[no rose colored glasses]

Oh wow, thanks for that info.

[pink angel]

I started a thread if anyone can find a picture, please post it.

[canadianmonkey]

O/T we have another one missing 

Police Launch Huge Hunt For Missing 12-Year-Old Girl
Tuesday May 26, 2009
CityNews.ca Staff
As police north of the city look for clues to where Tori Stafford may be, another manhunt has begun in the city. And this time the missing child is just 12 years of age.

Her name is Stephanie Rotman and what started off as a normal day for her family has quickly escalated into one of fear, worry and frantic searching.

The girl left her Bellamy Rd. home around 8:30am Tuesday morning, heading to John McCrae Senior Public School at 431 McCowan Rd.

She never arrived.

Her family tells police that their daughter has never gone missing before and that it's totally out of character for her to disappear without a trace or to miss her regular classes.

Police are scouring the area for her and are preparing to release her picture to the media so they can help in the hunt. We'll add that photo as soon as it's available.

Stephanie is described as:

White,
5'3",
Slim,
Brown hair past her shoulders,
Grey shorts with an orange stripe down the side,
Black T-shirt with a bumblebee and flowers on the front.
Multi-tone green backpack
She was also wearing Nike high-tops with a white shoelace in one sneaker and a black coloured lace in the other.

If you think you know where she is, call (416) 808-4300 and let police know.

http://www.citynews.ca/news/news_34861.aspx

Let her be found soon...that's two people missing in Toronto..right.  The 19 year old reservist and now Stephanie Rotman.

No Amber Alert for her either. ::shakes head::

Your right!  I didn't even think of that.  And with all the news carrying stories about changes to the Amber Alert.   

[canadianmonkey]

Stephanie has been found.   

Missing girl located,
Stephanie Rotman, 12,
43 Division
Broadcast time: 15:16
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
43 Division
416−808−4300
The Toronto Police Service would like to thank the public for their assistance locating a
missing girl.
Stephanie Rotman, 12, was last seen on Tuesday, May 26, 2009, at 8:35 a.m., on Bellamy
Road North. She was on her way to school, but did not show up for class.
See previous release.
She was located on Tuesday, May 26, 2009, at 2:54 p.m.
Constable

[pink angel]

http://www.canadaeast.com/front/article/679283

WOODSTOCK, Ont. - Victoria Stafford's mother sobbed "my baby, my baby" repeatedly when police told her the eight-year-old girl had been murdered.

That from the grandmother of Victoria, who says it sounded like someone put a "butcher knife" through Tara McDonald's heart when police delivered the tragic news last week.

(more at link)

[Northern Rose]

Police review Amber Alert system amid criticism of handling of Tori Stafford case
By: Allison Jones, THE CANADIAN PRESS

WOODSTOCK, Ont. - A police-led review of Ontario's Amber Alert system was announced Tuesday following weeks of criticism directed at authorities for not activating the alert when they learned eight-year-old Victoria Stafford had vanished.

Victoria, known as Tori, left school around 3:30 p.m. on April 8 and was reported missing to police at about 6 p.m. Police began investigating and sent a release to local media overnight and sent a broader release to more media outlets around 6 a.m. the next day.

Police now believe Tori likely died the same day she was taken, court documents suggest.

Ontario Provincial Police said Tuesday the force would co-ordinate a review of the Amber Alert system - a move that came as a petition calling for changes to the alert criteria quickly gained popularity online.

"(Tori's) case was a contributing factor," Insp. Dave Ross said of the review.

"However, we continually review our programs and policies, particularly in the OPP and in policing in general, to ensure they are meeting the needs of the community and certainly ensuring the safety of our children."

When Amber Alerts are issued an urgent notice is sent to broadcasters so that vital information about the child in danger can be issued to the public. Information is also flashed on highway signs.

By Tuesday afternoon the petition, called Tori's Law, had amassed more than 25,000 signatures.

Ontario's Correctional Services Minister, Rick Bartolucci, said he agreed with the petition's request for the review.

"The OPP is going to have a fulsome review. They'll involve our partners and if in fact recommendations are made to change the Amber Alert, I'll be more than happy to work with our policing partners in that," Bartolucci said.

"At the end of the day we want the strongest possible alert mechanism in place so I look forward to the findings of the review."

Bartolucci wouldn't say whether he thought the system failed Victoria, calling her case "a tragic situation" he couldn't comment on specifically.

"Certainly, in Ontario, we want to ensure that our Amber Alert procedures are the best possible procedures in order to protect all of our children," he said.

Police have charged 28-year-old Michael Rafferty with the first-degree murder and abduction of Tori and 18-year-old Terri-Lynne McClintic with abduction and as an accessory.

Police almost immediately faced a public backlash for not calling an Amber Alert, but said at the time, as they would come to repeat many more times in the ensuing weeks, that Tori's case did not fit the criteria.

For an Amber Alert to be triggered, police must believe a child under 18 has just been abducted, consider the child to be in danger of serious bodily harm, and have enough descriptive information of a suspect or vehicle.

For more than a week after the bubbly little girl disappeared Oxford Community police referred to her case as a missing person. It was not until the provincial police came on board nine days later that it was labelled an abduction.

Although police were told the evening of April 8 that Tori had gone missing, it wasn't until the next day that surveillance video was analyzed and revealed the girl was led away from the school by the mystery woman, Oxford Community Police Service Chief Ron Fraser has said.

People who have signed the petition have also called for harsher penalties for people convicted of crimes against children and updating the technology the Amber Alert system uses to include text messages and other emerging technologies.

One person proposed a "Tori Alert," which would notify the public when a young child may be in trouble, with the option of upgrading it to an Amber Alert when danger is confirmed.

Meanwhile Tuesday, Tori's grandmother recalled the night her daughter Tara McDonald was told by police that Tori was dead.

All she could do was sob "like someone put a butcher knife through her heart," and cry out "my baby, my baby," Linda Winters said.

Winters is haunted by her daughter's anguished sobs, and said all McDonald could do was repeat "my baby," and "oh, Daryn," sobbing in part for her son, who had just lost his sister and best friend.

By all accounts Tori and Daryn, who turned 11 while his sister was missing, were two peas in a pod, and he was the ever-doting and highly protective older brother. McDonald has said he is having a hard time over the loss of his sister and is dealing with a lot of anger.

Winters, 54, would often look after Tori and Daryn, and said her last memory of Tori is dropping her off at school on the morning of April 8 - what would turn out to be mere hours before she was abducted.

When Winters dropped her granddaughter off at school that morning - Daryn had gone in earlier - she was wearing a bit of makeup.

"She thought she had eye makeup on, but you couldn't see it," Winters said.

"As she walked into the school she stopped and turned around as usual and gave me her smile," she said of the last time she would ever see Victoria - known as Tori to many but was known as princess to Winters.

Winters feels anger toward Tori's abductors and killers, but believes their true punishment will come from God.

"Whatever happens to them on this Earth will not be enough," she said.

"You could pull out their fingernails one at a time, you could make them suffer... but there is no punishment whatsoever that would (be sufficient for) taking a child."

http://www.cftktv.com/news/14/934410

[Northern Rose]

School dismissal policies vary
Posted 1 hour ago
 

TYLER KULA

The *******

Public school officials says they will review how its facilities dismiss pupils in the wake of Victoria (Tori) Stafford’s abduction from school.

The Lambton Kent District School Board doesn’t have a specific dismissal policy for its 66 schools, said acting director Joy Badder. Schools rely on parent communication and supervised bussing, and take special care to know exactly who is responsible for Kindergarten and Junior Kindergarten students, she said.

“I’m sure that we will be discussing our policies in the upcoming meetings.”

Stafford, 8, went missing after school in Woodstock on April 8. After a six-week investigation police told her family a week ago that they had arrested two people and would be charging one with murder.

St. Clair Catholic District School Board administrators satisfied with their existing procedures, said director Paul Wubben.

“We’ve pretty much got all our bases covered,” he said, adding the board is “increasingly aware” of the necessity to keep students safe at its 33 schools.

The board doesn’t have a specific dismissal policy either, but use police visit schools through Values Influences and Peers programs, Internet safety information, staff badges, a locked-door policy, and signing in and out, Wubben said.

Busses are supervised and students cannot switch busses, the school yard is cleared at the end of the day and parents picking up their children must wait at the office.

“The big thing is the consistency at the end of the day,” he said. “That’s where you lose kids.”


Patricia MacNeil, and Education Ministry spokesperson, said dismissal procedures are determined on a board-by-board, and often school-by-school basis, to allow for specific community needs.

Most schools follow similar procedures but discrepancies are allowed to suit individual school needs, Wubben said.

A ministry safe arrival program exists and a safe departure program would be welcomed, said Paul Millman, a public board trustee in Sarnia.

“It’s possible there could be new provincial directives that we would have to follow if mandated, or look at if suggested,” he said.

“There could be changes,” he said. “I don’t know what they would be.”

http://www.theobserver.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1584642

[no rose colored glasses]

How very sad and disgusting, I just felt that Terri, was of no value at all with her supposed helping of LE.

[Kat_Gram]

Rafferty had from April 12 to when he was arrested to do clean up.
He knew she was in jail, probably stepped up and did what he could as soon as he knew she was in custody.
That's why IMO it is important for them to check all of his cell records, bank cards and get his full face out there saying :
Did you see this man ?
Teri  ? who knows. Maybe the girl was moved. Maybe Teri is just playing a game.
LE seems slow to act or do anything that would qualify as doing their job.
Took way to long for the community police force to call in the OPP.

[cookie]

Stephanie has been found.   

Missing girl located,
Stephanie Rotman, 12,
43 Division
Broadcast time: 15:16
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
43 Division
416−808−4300
The Toronto Police Service would like to thank the public for their assistance locating a
missing girl.
Stephanie Rotman, 12, was last seen on Tuesday, May 26, 2009, at 8:35 a.m., on Bellamy
Road North. She was on her way to school, but did not show up for class.
See previous release.
She was located on Tuesday, May 26, 2009, at 2:54 p.m.
Constable

thank God!! any other details???

[canadianmonkey]

Hi Cookie,

No other details, just that she was found.  More then likely she just skipped school.  There is another person missing this morning however according to Toronto Police  I put the article below. 

Missing boy,
Mason MacPhail, 16,
51 Division
Broadcast time: 09:53
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
51 Division
416−808−5100
The Toronto Police Service is requesting the public's assistance locating a missing boy.
Mason MacPhail, 16, was last seen on Tuesday, May 26, 2009, at the Sound Academy, 11
Polson Street, at 9:30 p.m. He attended a concert with three friends.
Mason does not live in Toronto, but is familiar with the Eaton Centre.
He is described as white, 5’11”, 160 lbs., with green eyes, very short wavy, dark brown hair,
and has a scar on his nose. He was last seen wearing blue jeans, a white, long sleeve shirt
and running shoes. He has Asbergers Syndrome.
Anyone with information is asked to contact police at 416−808−5100, Crime Stoppers
anonymously at 416−222−TIPS (8477), online at www.222tips.com, or text TOR and your
message to CRIMES (274637).
Constable Wendy Drummond, Public Information, for Detective Constable Michelle Campese,
51 Division
ID: 16498

http://www.torontopolice.on.ca/newsreleases/pdfs/16498.pdf

There are pictures on the link but i'm not sure how to put them on here.

[cookie]

thanks Canadian.....
another one missing? Good Lord...stop the world I want to get off! when will it ever stop??? grrrr...

[Northern Rose]

Hi Cookie,

No other details, just that she was found.  More then likely she just skipped school.  There is another person missing this morning however according to Toronto Police  I put the article below. 

Missing boy,
Mason MacPhail, 16,
51 Division
Broadcast time: 09:53
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
51 Division
416−808−5100
The Toronto Police Service is requesting the public's assistance locating a missing boy.
Mason MacPhail, 16, was last seen on Tuesday, May 26, 2009, at the Sound Academy, 11
Polson Street, at 9:30 p.m. He attended a concert with three friends.
Mason does not live in Toronto, but is familiar with the Eaton Centre.
He is described as white, 5’11”, 160 lbs., with green eyes, very short wavy, dark brown hair,
and has a scar on his nose. He was last seen wearing blue jeans, a white, long sleeve shirt
and running shoes. He has Asbergers Syndrome.
Anyone with information is asked to contact police at 416−808−5100, Crime Stoppers
anonymously at 416−222−TIPS (8477), online at www.222tips.com, or text TOR and your
message to CRIMES (274637).
Constable Wendy Drummond, Public Information, for Detective Constable Michelle Campese,
51 Division
ID: 16498

http://www.torontopolice.on.ca/newsreleases/pdfs/16498.pdf

There are pictures on the link but i'm not sure how to put them on here.

Here is his pic.

[Northern Rose]

‘I think monsters are made’
Wednesday, May 27, 2009

MacTier residents are still shocked after police charged their former neighbour, Terri-Lynne McClintic, in connection with the missing eight-year-old Woodstock girl.

Eighteen-year-old McClintic appeared in court last Wednesday, charged with assisting in the abduction of young Woodstock resident Victoria “Tori” Stafford.

McClintic lived in MacTier until a few years ago, attending MacTier Public School from Kindergarten through to high school, where she played on the girls’ hockey team.

MacTier residents who knew her say she appeared outwardly happy most of the time, but clearly lived a troubled home life.

“The mother was kind of scary, always drinking,” said a former neighbour, adding that the young girl spent a lot of time in foster homes.

“She’d (Terri-Lynne) be walking down the street, crying her eyes out, and I’d wonder why,” he said. “It wouldn’t be 10 minutes later, here comes her mom, walking down the street, crying, saying ‘have you seen my baby?’”

McClintic and her boyfriend, Michael Thomas Rafferty, 28, were arraigned last Wednesday morning. She was charged with assisting in the abduction of Tori Stafford. He was charged with first-degree murder and abduction.

Many of those who knew her are reluctant to talk about McClintic, some saying they don’t want to be associated with the former MacTier resident.

Those that did talk about her said she had a troubled life from the start, living with her adoptive mother Carol McClintic after Carol’s boyfriend had a baby – Terri-Lynne – with another woman.

One neighbour, a young girl who didn’t want to be identified, said she knew Terri-Lynne well when she lived in MacTier, since the McClintics lived just a few houses down on Joseph Street.

“I used to hang out with her when I was at school, at recess,” she said. “She didn’t seem like that kind of a person, but you don’t know people.”

Although she is one year her senior, she said McClintic was held back a grade, and so the two shared several classes.

While she seemed like any other girl in the class, she said McClintic had an eating disorder at the time.

The girl’s mother, who said she’s lived in the community “forever,” remembers McClintic as a “very nice little girl” who had a rough childhood.

“I think the system failed her when she was a little girl,” she said. “She was in and out of foster care - and they kept bringing her back.”

Shocked by the news of McClintic’s alleged involvement in the high-profile abduction, she said she’s worried the charges will sully MacTier’s reputation.

“It’s going to make MacTier look bad again,” she said. “It’s horrible for any community.”

A neighbour living across the street from the brown Joseph Street house McClintic and her mother, Carol, lived in, said they left town several years ago.

“She was really young when she lived here,” she said. “She was a happy kid usually, but pretty quiet.”

Brittany Trudeau, of MacTier, had a year to get to know McClintic as the assistant coach of the hockey team she played for in 2005.

“She was a good player,” she said. “She seemed to be a nice, happy, cheerful person. I’m still kind of in disbelief, just wondering how a seemingly normal girl could go and try to do things like that,” she said.

Parry Sound resident Gail MacDonald said McClintic was a friend of her daughter’s when she was about 12 years old and staying with a foster family in Parry Sound.

“She actually slept at my house,” MacDonald said. “She was no different than any other girl, except that she had such a horrendous background. She was in and out of foster care. She told me about her mom being a crack addict, and I mean this is a little girl, they’re not even teenagers yet. (It was a) really sad, sad background. I’m certainly not saying that justifies what happened, I don’t know what happened between now and then, but there used to be a kid in there that had hope. And I just think it’s really sad that it’s come to this for her.”

MacDonald said her daughter was upset to hear the news, since McClintic was her good buddy.

“She ran away a lot, and one night a bunch of us moms were out looking for her, and we found her hitchhiking down the highway. She did crazy stuff like that. I don’t think she ever felt she had roots.

“I don’t know how she hooked up with her mom again, but obviously, she did,” she said. “I think monsters are made.”

Andrea Godfrey, 26, who now lives in Huntsville, grew up in MacTier and said she witnessed the chaos in McClintic’s life firsthand.

“I was 14,” Godfrey said. “I lived in MacTier. I was one of those kids who never hung out at home. I was always looking for a place to hang out. I gravitated toward Carol’s house. It was the kind of place you could do whatever you wanted. If you wanted to smoke cigarettes you could smoke cigarettes, if you want to smoke some weed, smoke your dope here, that kind of idea.

“That’s how I started to get to know Carol. Terri-Lynne would stay out all the time. I was always around, and MacTier’s not very big. Terri-Lynne would come home from school, and would be told to go to her bedroom.”

Godfrey said when she was 14, she would drive McClintic and Carol around in Carol McClintic’s car, because Carol was too drunk.

She said she also saw Carol beat her daughter, once beating her in public at the local arena, where an arena employee called police.

Eventually, McClintic fought back, beating up her mom, who called the police and had her daughter arrested for assault.

Godfrey said she’s still trying to digest the news of McClintic’s connection to the Woodstock abduction.

“I’m very surprised by it, but at the same time I don’t know what to think,” she said. “It’s shock for sure. I knew what she was going through, I knew that if there was always somebody over at that house hanging out, Carol would hopefully not take it out on her. Not physically at least.”

The investigation into Tori Stafford’s abduction began 42 days ago and, despite their efforts, police have been unable to recover Stafford’s body.

The investigation began after the girl was reported missing, and Police obtained a surveillance video tape - which they’ve since released - of a woman in a white coat - allegedly McClintic - leading the young girl away.

http://www.parrysound.com/press/1243435091/

[no rose colored glasses]

thanks Canadian.....
another one missing? Good Lord...stop the world I want to get off! when will it ever stop??? grrrr...

Can I join you 

[Northern Rose]

Accused to appear in court for Ont. girl's kidnap, murder
 
 
Canwest News ServiceMay 27, 2009 9:01 AM

WOODSTOCK, Ont. — Two Ontario residents charged in connection with the high profile abduction and death of eight-year-old Victoria (Tori) Stafford will make another court appearance Thursday, as authorities continued Wednesday to search for the girl's body.


The two accused — Terri-Lynne McClintic, 18, and Michael Rafferty, 28, — are slated to appear by videolink in a Woodstock Ont., courtroom at 9 a.m. The couple was arrested May 20 and remain in custody.


McClintic is charged with abduction and accessory after the fact to murder while Rafferty faces one count of first-degree murder and one count of abduction.


Rafferty is reportedly on suicide watch at the Elgin Middlesex Detention Centre in London Ont., according to his lawyer Harald Mattson, in an interview with the Waterloo Region Record.


Meanwhile, the Ontario Provincial Police confirmed Tuesday they would review the way Amber Alerts are handled, in the wake of heavy criticism for not issuing the warning after Tori went missing after school on April 8.


The Ontario Amber Alert is a warning system that lets the public know about abducted children who are in imminent danger, according to the OPP website.


At the time of Tori's disappearance, police said the case didn't fit the criteria for an Amber Alert and it was never activated.


OPP commissioner Julian Fantino said Tuesday the Stafford case had "brought some questions to the fore."


However, Fantino also cautioned police don't want the Amber Alerts to "become a routine thing" and should be reserved for special cases where it is important to get the public's attention.


The search for Tori's remains was expected to continue Wednesday, as authorities entered their eighth day of looking for the girl's body.


Police divers were called in to scour two lakes near Guelph, Ont., — about 100 kilometres west of Toronto. Investigators also continued to ask for public assistance in their search for the grey, cloth-covered back seat of a car believed to have been used in the abduction of the Woodstock child.

http://www.canada.com/news/Accused+appear+court+girl+kidnap+murder/1634987/story.html

[Northern Rose]

Search will continue until Victoria is found: police
Last Updated: Wednesday, May 27, 2009 | 9:40 AM ET

Police continue their search around Guelph, Ont., looking for the remains of Victoria Stafford.

Searchers have concentrated on the area since last week's arrest of two people charged with abducting and murdering the eight-year-old girl.

One of the accused, Terri-Lynne McClintic, was involved in the search for several days.

Although police have not been successful yet, Const. Laurie Ann Matiland of the Oxford Community Police said the search will continue until the remains are found.

"[Police investigators] continue to receive tips and leads and they investigate every single one and they follow the evidence wherever it takes them. And the investigation is still going strong — and they're going to locate Victoria Stafford. The investigation is full throttle," she said.

Police have searched Guelph Lake using sonar technology. They've also used canine units to help in the search.

Victoria Stafford was abducted from outside her school in Woodstock on April 8.

Michael Rafferty, 28, and McClintic, 18, are charged with abduction and murder.

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/toronto/story/2009/05/27/victoria-stafford.html

[Northern Rose]

Victoria (Tori) Stafford Questions Still Remain

Posted by admin in Provincial (Wednesday May 27, 2009 at 6:13 am)
On April 8, 2009 in Woodstock, Ontario, Canada, eight-year-old Victoria (Tori) Stafford disappeared after leaving Oliver Stephens Public School at 3:30pm. Originally filed as a missing persons case. Local authorities suspected Tori’s mother Tara McDonald of foul play. Six days latter the provincial authorities took over and declared that she had been abducted. With the abduction investigation underway two suspects emerge.

Police arrested Michael Rafferty, 28, and Terry Lynne McClintock, 18, on May 19th for kidnapping and murder. Neighbors claim they were drug dealers selling OxyContin to Tara McDonald. The police who now believe Tori was murdered, and are searching fruitlessly for her body with the help of McClintic. They did however manage to recover the missing backseat to the car suspected to have been used in Tori’s abduction. Police have been tight-lipped about the case details, and they will not say why they believe Tori was murdered. Rodney Stafford Tori’s father believes that the abductors came looking for Tori specifically; and with the obvious corporation of McClintic, it would seem everyone involved hopes that the truth will soon come out. On Thursday, May 28, Rafferty and McClintic are scheduled to be back in court. Until then questions still remain.

http://www.eontarionow.com/provincial/2009/05/27/victoria-tori-stafford-questions-still-remain/

This is the first time I have seen any of the outlets say that they have recovered the back seat.  I am searching for more on this.  Was it the one in Kitchner or is this a misstype?  IF it was Kitchner the search area has gotten a whole lot bigger.

[Northern Rose]

Suicide watch for Tori suspect


May 27, 2009 04:30 AM
Raveena Aulakh
STAFF REPORTER

The man accused of abducting and killing Victoria "Tori" Stafford is in segregation in jail and on suicide watch, says his Kitchener lawyer.

"He's in a six-by-eight (foot) jail cell trying to survive," Hal Mattson told the Waterloo Region Record.

Michael Rafferty, 28, of Woodstock, is charged with first-degree murder and abduction in connection with the disappearance of 8-year-old Tori.

Police have been searching for Tori's remains for nearly a week in a rural area about an hour outside Woodstock.

Rafferty's girlfriend, Terri-Lynne McClintic, 18, is charged with abduction and being an accessory.

The two are scheduled to appear in Woodstock court tomorrow.

Mattson, who will represent Rafferty, said the case will likely be adjourned for two weeks so he and Brennan Smart, another lawyer, can review disclosure.

Mattson said he spent about an hour with Rafferty last week soon after he was arrested. He would not comment on Rafferty's demeanour or what they spoke about in their meeting.

Meanwhile, the Ontario Provincial Police announced a review of Ontario's Amber Alert system yesterday after more than 27,000 people signed an online petition.

Tori's abduction and death were factors in the decision to initiate a review, said Insp. Dave Ross. Every aspect of the alert will be re-examined, said Ross, adding there is no timeline to its completion.

Police had come under heavy criticism for not issuing an alert after Tori went missing from Woodstock on April 8. She was last seen at about 3:30 p.m. but reported missing at 6 p.m.

In the days after her abduction, local police said her case did not meet the conditions necessary to issue an alert.

An Amber Alert is issued in the immediate hours after a child goes missing and police say certain criteria, such as a car description, are required before sending out the alert.

The online petition, called Tori's Law, was started by a Toronto woman. One of the changes demanded is that the alert should be sounded without any questions when someone under the age of 16 goes missing.

Provincial New Democrat Rosario Marchese has pledged to deliver the petition to the Ontario legislature.

In Woodstock, Doreen Graichen, Tori's grandmother, said she understands why an alert was not issued when Tori went missing, but is glad they are reviewing it now.

"I don't know if anything would have made a difference (in Tori's case) but in the event the same thing happens with another child, I'll be happy to see some changes in it."

http://www.thestar.com/News/GTA/article/640976