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

[Sister]

This is beyond belief.. They have HER and HIM ... WHY is it, they do not have TORI ?

If I was a cop I would be arrested at this point for beating him senseless daily to get an answer.

IMO the uncle should have not been restrained the day they were moving him from the courthouse.  I think the uncle would have gotten the information on the location by now.

NorthernRose, I'm not a betting person, but I got $5 for the collection plate that says the uncle can get that info.  But of course, the perps have more rights than the victims.  It makes me deeply angry.

[Northern Rose]

Happy Birthday Tori
Posted By Kristi Setterington

The day her baby girl was born was one of the happiest days of Tara McDonald's life.

You could see that every time she spoke of her daughter Victoria, or the number of times Tara proudly displayed photos of her daughter.

No one can imagine what today will be like for Tara, Rodney, Dayrn and the rest of Tori's family and friends. Victoria "Tori" Stafford would have been nine years old today.

But instead of taking photos of Tori opening gifts, or blowing out the candles on her birthday cake, perhaps her family will spend the day going through photos of Tori, remembering the joy associated with past birthday parties.

It will be a day for quiet reflection. There is still no grave for her family to visit. Perhaps they'll visit a favourite spot of Tori's and release a balloon in her memory, or plant a purple flower as being suggested on one Facebook page.

Her life was cut too short. No one had any way of knowing that her eighth birthday would be her last.

We still don't know all of the details or what exactly happened on that fateful day. What we do know is that Tori disappeared, walking home from her elementary school, April 8. Her family, friends, police and even strangers searched for her.

Sadly, it was over a month later that we learned of her fate. While her body has yet to be found, two suspects have been arrested for their alleged role in her murder.

Those who have been touched by the case are still showing their support. Facebook groups for Tori's birthday have been created. Hundreds of people have sent birthday wishes. Some have encouraged us to blow out a candle and to make a wish for Tori.

Suspect Michael Rafferty will be back in court just two short days after what would have been Tori's birthday. Fellow suspect Terri-Lynne McClintic will be back in late August.

The OPP's emergency response team continues to scour the woodlands and fields in the Fergus area. Despite the massive search area -- Wellington County is almost 2,700 square kilometres -- these officers are still intent on finding Tori.

http://www.oxfordreview.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1657049

[Northern Rose]

Missing Tori Stafford of Woodstock, Ont., would have turned nine today
By THE CANADIAN PRESS – 8 hours ago

WOODSTOCK, Ont. — Tori Stafford - the Woodstock, Ont., girl whose disappearance ended in tragedy when two people were charged with her murder - would have turned nine years old today.

Her father, Rodney Stafford, said earlier this week that birthdays excited Tori and she began planning this year's party right after she turned eight.

Stafford also said he planned to stay home today and avoid people in order to "be alone" with his memories.

Tori was last seen leaving her school on April 8 with a dark-haired young woman who police now allege is one of two people charged with first-degree murder.

Woodstock residents Terri-Lynne McClintic and Michael Rafferty remain in custody and their lawyers do not expect a trial to begin until next year.

Police, meanwhile, continue to search the Guelph and Fergus areas for Tori's remains and follow up on tips from the public.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5hXM01UhROHzDzCA1ruPLmLe1LjmQ

[MuffyBee]

http://www.canadaeast.com/front/article/732004
Suspect in kidnapping and death of Tori Stafford to appear in court
Published Friday July 17th, 2009
WOODSTOCK, Ont. - One of the two people charged in the kidnapping and death of Woodstock, Ont., girl Tori Stafford is to appear in court today.

Michael Thomas Rafferty (right), charged with murder in the case of missing eight-year-old girl Victoria (Tori) Stafford, is led from court in Woodstock, Ont., Wednesday, May 20, 200
Michael Rafferty, 26, is charged with first-degree murder and the kidnapping of the eight-year-old girl.

The trials of Rafferty and his co-accused, Terri-Lynne McClintic, are not expected to begin until sometime next year.

Rafferty is expected to appear in court via a video link from a detention centre in London, Ont.

Tori, who would have turned nine on Wednesday, was last seen leaving her school on April 8 with a dark-haired young woman.

Police have not yet found any trace of Tori's body and continue searching the Guelph and Fergus areas for her remains.

[MuffyBee]

http://www.tillsonburgnews.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1650863
Ministry provides some extra help
July 11, 2009
By Bruce Urquhart

SUN MEDIA

Oxford's Crown attorney will now be working full time preparing the prosecution's case against the man accused of kidnapping and murdering Victoria "Tori" Stafford.

Crown attorney Brian Crockett and assistant Crown attorney Michael Carnegie have been "assigned full time to the Tori Stafford case," confirmed Brendan Crawford, a spokesperson for the Ministry of the Attorney General.

Because of the preparation time needed in the case -- and the mountains of evidence from the ongoing police investigation -- the assignation of the two prosecutors is not unusual.

With the preliminary hearing not expected until early next year -- and Michael Rafferty's trial some time after that -- Brendan Evans, a senior assistant Crown Attorney from the London office, has been temporarily assigned to Oxford as its acting Crown.

"A second (assistant) Crown attorney will be brought in to help with the regular workload," Crawley said.

The Crown attorney's office declined to comment Thursday on these staffing arrangements.

The amount of evidence to date in the Rafferty case is already staggering. Defence lawyer Hal Mattson said in mid-June that his office had received about 300 gigabytes of disclosed evidence and expected several hundred more.

"We can't move the file forward until (we receive) all the disclosure," Mattson said at the time.
Rafferty, 28, was arrested on May 19, almost six weeks after Tori was abducted. The eight-year-old girl was last seen walking north along Fyfe Avenue with a dark-haired young woman shortly after leaving Oliver Stephens Public School at 3:30 p.m. Rafferty's next court appearance is scheduled for July 17 while 19-year-old Terri-Lynne McClintic, the young woman also accused of Tori's kidnapping and murder, is next set to appear on Aug. 12. (See the post just previous to this one about Rafferty scheduled for a court appearance today, July 17th. MuffyBee)

[Northern Rose]

Suspect in Tori Stafford death gets a new lawyer
Updated Fri. Jul. 17 2009 6:04 PM ET

ctvtoronto.ca

A 28-year-old man charged with kidnapping and murder in a Woodstock, Ont. girl's disappearance has a new lawyer.

Toronto lawyer Scott Reid of replaces Hal Mattson in the case of Michael Rafferty, who appeared Friday in a Woodstock court via videolink from a detention centre in nearby London.

Rafferty's case has been put over until Aug. 21.

Reid would only say he will "vigorously defend" Rafferty, saying under questioning that it would be a "safe assumption" his client wouldn't plead guilty.

Rafferty and Terri-Lynne McClintic both face charges of first-degree murder and kidnapping in connection with the April 8 disappearance of Victoria Stafford, who would have celebrated her ninth birthday this week.

Their trials aren't expected to begin until sometime in 2010.

Police continue to search for Tori's body in the Guelph and Fergus areas. However, they have not yet found any trace of the little girl.

With files from The Canadian Press

  http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20090717/stafford_suspect_090717/20090717?hub=Canada

[Northern Rose]

Rafferty to plead not guilty
Posted By By Heather Rivers
Updated 14 hours ago
 

WOODSTOCK —Michael Rafferty’s new lawyer said his client will likely plead not guilty to first degree murder charges in the death of Victoria “Tori” Stafford.

“That is a safe assumption,” said Scott Reid of the law firm Derstine Penman.

Both Rafferty, 28, and Terri-Lynne McClintic, 18, are facing murder charges in connection to the disappearance of Stafford on April 8.

During a brief video court appearance Friday from the Elgin-Middlesex Detention Centre, Rafferty advised the court Reid will replace Rafferty’s former lawyer, Hal Mattson.

Reid, speaking to reporters after the video appearance, said he can’t comment on Rafferty’s decision to change lawyers.

“That’s between Rafferty and his former lawyer,” he said.

Reid said he expects to receive more information regarding the case in the near future.

“I expect in the next few days and week we’ll be provided with Crown disclosure,” he said. “I think we’ll be getting that in due course.”

Reid said he will utilize his Toronto law firm’s full resources including the efforts of a number of partners and students.

Reid also said he is unsure when a trial will take place.

“It’s too early at this stage to guess when a trial might be,” he said.

He said a number of factors, including judicial and Crown availability, need to be in place “before we set a court date.”

“A considerable process is just beginning now,” he said.

Reid said it is important to remember Michael Rafferty is presumed innocent until proven guilty.

“It is our intention to vigorously defend this case,” he said. “I encourage people not to jump to any conclusions. The facts will come out at trial.”

Assistant Crown attorney Michael Carnegie, who has been assigned to work fulltime on the case, said he can’t comment on what stage the investigation is at “to maintain the integrity of the investigation.”

Over 100 police officers, including Oxford Community Police Service and OPP, are still working on the investigation.

The OPP Emergency Response Team is searching and following leads in the Fergus and Guelph areas.

About 5,265 tips have poured in from the public since the beginning of the investigation and officers continue to follow up on the hundred that have come in over the past weeks, according to Const. Laurie-Anne Maitland.

Rafferty’s next court appearance is Aug. 21.

http://woodstocksentinelreview.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1661308

[Nut44x4]

Remains Found Near Where Police Are Searching For Tori Stafford
Monday July 20, 2009

Remains have been found near where police are searching for the body of Tori Stafford, the OPP confirmed.

However, investigators have not said if it's the body of the missing eight-year-old, or even if the remains are human.

The grisly discovery was made on the 6th Line in Arthur Township north of Guelph on Saturday.

Tori, a third-grade student, didn't come home from school on April 8. The Woodstock girl was last seen on security camera video walking with a young woman that afternoon.

Even after months of searching, her body still has not been found.

She would have turned nine years old on July 15.

Michael Thomas Rafferty, 28, and Terri-Lynne McClintic, 18, have been charged with first-degree murder and abduction.

http://www.citynews.ca/news/news_36040.aspx

[Nut44x4]

[Nut44x4]

Evidence found in search for body of missing Ont. girl
July 20, 2009 7:50 AM

Ontario Provincial Police investigators returned Monday morning to an area near Mount Forest, Ont., where they found evidence that could be linked with the disappearance an eight-year-old Woodstock, Ont., girl who was kidnapped in April. Unconfirmed media reports suggest human remains may have been discovered.

Police investigators were searching a specific area near Mount Forest for the remains of Victoria Stafford, who was last seen April 8 on surveillance video leaving a Woodstock school with a woman when they came across the possible evidence.

Michael Rafferty, 28, and Terri-Lynne McCLintic, 19, have been charged in connection to Stafford’s murder.

McCLintic has tried to help police in the search for Stafford’s body.

Mount Forest is about 132 kilometres north of Woodstock.

http://www.canada.com/news/national/Police+find+remains+near+Tori+Stafford+search+site/1808459/story.html

[Nut44x4]

Police say it's unknown if remains of 'young child' found are Tori Stafford
(CP) – 23 minutes ago

TORONTO — Remains believed to be those of a "young child" have been found in a rural area near Mount Forest, Ont., but police can't yet say if the remains are those of Tori Stafford.

The eight-year-old girl disappeared on April 8 and police have focussed their search for her body in the Guelph and Fergus areas, south of where the remains were discovered on Sunday.

Ontario provincial police Sgt. David Rektor says the remains were in a "relatively new area of the search" for the eight-year-old girl.

He adds that police "don't want to speculate" that the remains are those of Tori and are classifying the remains as "suspicious" for now.

However, provincial police say "members of the Stafford Homicide Investigative team" are taking part of the investigation.

Provincial police Det. Insp. Bill Renton, who has led the Stafford investigation, says police are "hopeful" they can "honour the life of Victoria Stafford by reuniting her with her loved ones in Woodstock."

Rektor says police are converging on the scene where the remains were found and the investigation "will ramp up today."

Woodstock Mayor Michael Harding told media that the possible discovery of Tori's remains will "reopen some wounds here (and) re-open a whole body of feelings that everyone will go through."

Harding said he had no plans to contact Tori's family.

"What they don't need is a politician sort of hanging off them and I've chosen to keep my distance since it's their issue more than it's my issue," he said.

The area where the remains were found has been cordoned as police working with the Ontario Chief Coroner's Office and the Centre of Forensic Sciences to try to identify the remains.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5gBMXccQvJ3hpxljKH5m2B2QFx6SQ

[Nut44x4]

This is beyond belief.. They have HER and HIM ... WHY is it, they do not have TORI ?

If I was a cop I would be arrested at this point for beating him senseless daily to get an answer.

I AGREE!!

[no rose colored glasses]

Thank-you for the updates. I hope that the family can get just some closure if this is Tori's remains 

[MuffyBee]

http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Evidence+found+search+body+missing+girl/1808459/story.html
Remains found near Victoria Stafford search site
 
 
By Jordana Huber, Canwest News ServiceJuly 20, 2009 6:32 AM

MOUNT FOREST, Ont. — Ontario Provincial Police investigators have found "suspicious remains" near Mount Forest, Ont., northwest of Guelph but it is too early to say whether they are those of eight-year-old Victoria Stafford.

"By no means are we indicating at this point that these are the remains of Victoria Stafford," OPP Sgt. David Rektor said Monday morning. "Certainly, we're not making that leap until such time as they are positively identified."

Rektor said investigators searching for the little girl found the remains Sunday on private property in a rural field.

Rektor said the scene remains "very busy" with police activity and more information will likely be released later Monday.

Two people — Terri-Lynne McClintic, 18, and Michael Rafferty, 28 — have been charged with first-degree murder in connection with the death.

The search for the little girl's body began May 20, after the suspects were arrested and charged.

The Grade 3 girl was last seen on a surveillance tape, willingly walking after school with an unknown woman in Woodstock, about 150 kilometres west of Toronto.

According to court documents, it is believed the young girl was killed the same day she disappeared.

Approximately 80 Ontario Provincial Police officers from several detachments and 25 Oxford Community police officers have been working on the case since Victoria's disappearance.

Mount Forest is about 132 kilometres north of Woodstock.

[MuffyBee]

http://toronto.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20090720/remains_found_090720/20090720/?hub=TorontoNewHome
Tori Stafford investigators find body of young child

Updated: Mon Jul. 20 2009 9:47:35 AM

Ontario Provincial Police say they have found what they believe to be the remains of a young child in Arthur Township.

The remains were found Sunday afternoon by an investigator who is part of a team looking into the murder of missing child Victoria Stafford, according to OPP Sgt. Dave Rektor.

The remains have not been confirmed as belonging to Victoria but Rektor said in a news release on Monday that the body will be sent to the Centre of Forensic Sciences in order to be positively identified.

"At this point, we are hopeful that we will be able to honour the life of Victoria Stafford by reuniting her with her loved ones in Woodstock," he said.

Police have been searching the area since late May for eight-year-old Victoria's remains.

Victoria, known as "Tori" by family and friends, was last seen alive on April 8 in Woodstock, Ont. A surveillance camera close to her school captured the girl walking with stranger.

On May 20, police arrested two suspects.

Investigators began searching the area around Guelph for Victoria's body after receiving a tip from the female suspect, but police never found her remains.

Rektor said the area around 6th Line just south of Highway 89 in the Mount Forest Area where the remains were located has been sealed off and authorities are investigating the findings.

Mount Forest is located west of Orangeville and just north of the Wellington and Guelph regions.

Michael Rafferty, 28, and Terri-Lynne McClintic, 18, have both been charged with first-degree murder and abduction.
   
      

   

[can]

I so hope Tori has been found at last.

Ty everyone for the recent updates.

[pink angel]

I am praying for her family. Let them be able to bring little Tori "home".

[SunnyinTX]

Thanks to all for the updates.....I know the family 'needs' to know, but I can't begin to imagine the pain the knowing will bring......the not knowing has to be hell.

[cookie]

this has to be so painful!

 even if these are not Tori's remains, they are someone's.....so sad....

[canadianmonkey]

I'm hoping it's Tori, so her family can start to heal.  It's so sad.