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

[pink angel]

Remains found likely those of Victoria Stafford: OPP commissioner

The human remains found this weekend in a rural area near Mount Forest, Ont., are almost certainly those of Victoria Stafford, the head of the Ontario Provincial Police said Monday.

"We have some very strong leads that cause us to believe that we have in fact located the human remains of [Victoria] Tori Stafford," OPP Commissioner Julian Fantino said.

The officer who headed the investigation into the abduction and murder of the child also said the discovery was probably the end of the search.

"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," said Det.-Insp. Bill Renton in a news release.

Early Monday, OPP investigators confirmed the discovery of human remains but couldn't say if they belonged to the eight-year-old Grade 3 student who disappeared on April 8 while on her way home from school in Woodstock, Ont.

OPP Sgt. Dave Rektor told CBC News that investigators found the remains Sunday in an area about 40 kilometres northwest of Guelph.

Rektor says the remains were southeast of Mount Forest in a "relatively new area of the search" for the girl.

Fantino said more forensic work needs to be done to confirm the identity. But, he said, he's hopeful this will bring some closure.

About 10 investigators are on site conducting a search of the area where the remains were found.

After they have completed their search the remains will be transported to Toronto for forensic examination.

Two Woodstock residents, Michael Rafferty and Terri-Lynne McClintic, are charged with kidnapping and first-degree murder in Victoria's disappearance.

Their trials are not expected to begin until next year.

Edit to add link per pink angel.  MB http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2009/07/20/opp-remains-body452.html

[Lovinlife]

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

Can someone from Canada explain what "Crown disclosure" is? TIA

I hope that Tori now can be laid to rest with a proper burial and her family can grieve.  I can not imagine the pain that they have had to endure for the past 6 months. 

And also that this brings more evidence for the case and Justice for Tori!

[can]

Lovinlife - I'm no expert but I think "crown disclosure" means prosecution handing over the evidence/discovery to the defence.

[kkate]

Hi Northern Rose...I hope this helps.

In Canada, the "Crown" is the prosecutor. In Ontario, the Crown generally provides the accused with a copy of police officer's notes, witness statements, and other materials from the Crown's brief. These must be safeguarded and not shared with anyone other than your lawyer. The lawyer, after being retained, will generally obtain additional disclosure from the Crown.

CHAPTER 5 CROWN DISCLOSURE
Crown disclosure is not only a crucial component of an accused’s right to make full answer and defence, it is also vital to the efficient functioning of the criminal justice system. To ensure that efficient disclosure practices are instituted and maintained across the province, police and prosecution co-operation and co-ordination must improve. A provincial co-ordinating committee should be established to develop a directive that comprehensively sets out the disclosure responsibilities of the police and prosecutors, and to address disclosure issues on an on-going basis. It is also urgent that a new and effective Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) be negotiated between police representatives and the Ministry of the Attorney General to govern the production, quality and format of police and disclosure briefs. Comprehensive policies must also be developed concerning the disclosure of audio and video taped evidence and the transcription of witness statements.

[Lovinlife]

Thanks KKate ~ we have that here in USA too, interesting terminology there.  Thank you all for answering and not calling me lazy for not looking it up myself. 

God bless Tori  

[pink angel]

Remains could belong to Tori Stafford, say OPP

Updated: Mon Jul. 20 2009 12:29:21 PM

ctvtoronto.ca

The remains of a young child found in a wooded area in rural Ontario are being transported to a Toronto forensics centre to try and determine if they belong to missing girl Victoria Stafford.

The body was found beside a large rock pile in a wooded, isolated area on Sunday afternoon just outside Wellington North Township, by an investigator who is part of a team looking into the child's murder.

The remains have not been confirmed as belonging to Victoria though investigators say they are likely those of the missing child.

Ontario Provincial Police Sgt. Dave Rektor said dental records will be used to try and determine the child's identity but that it will take "some time" to make that identification.

"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 people - a male and female suspect.

Victoria's parents, who are separated, were not home on Monday when a CTV Toronto reporter knocked on their door.

Geography 'a challenge'

Investigators began searching the area around Fergus, Ont. for Victoria's body after receiving a tip from the female suspect, but police never found her remains. The suspect told police of landmarks that may have been near the spot where Victoria's body was left.

"When you're dealing with a geography that's so vast and wide, it takes time to search it properly," Rektor told reporters at the scene Monday.

The area where the remains were found is located about 15 minutes north of where police were initially searching. Rektor said he's not sure who owns the property.

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

"The remains are in a very secluded area," he said. "We'll have to meticulously go into the scene and uncover everything that needs to be uncovered."

A black funeral hearse and a forensics truck was seen driving past the police blockade and onto the dirt road where the remains are located. The body was loaded into the hearse. An OPP officer saluted as the hearse drove away.

Const. Mark Cloes said officers will remain on the scene until they are relieved by crime scene investigators. The lead investigator in the case is expected to speak to the media at a news conference later this afternoon.

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

Cloes said the remains were found off of a dirt road that is well used by the Mennonite community. A detective who is part of the Stafford homicide investigative team was out for a drive when he noticed landmarks familiar to what the suspect described and decided to take a closer look.

"The area fit the profile of what we were looking for," Cloes said. "He went up the laneway and found the remains."

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


There are pictures and video at the link

http://toronto.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20090720/remains_found_090720/20090720/?hub=TorontoNewHome

The police officer saluting the hearse put a lump in my throat.

My prayers are with her family and friends. What a hard day today must be for them.

[can]

CP24 will carry a news conference today @ 1:30.

It seems a detective was traveling on this road and noticed aspects that fit the profile they had of possible burial site.  i. e.  house across from the field,
wooded area, etc. and stopped to check. 

I would say a detective with a passion and a hunch and willingness to check again.   

The little body is enroute to coroners office in Toronto and it is expected that, if it is Tori an i.d. will be made quite rapidly.   

[cookie]

so senseless! this should have never happened to this innocent little girl....grrrrr!
this is getting harder and harder to deal with...

[pink angel]

If the presser is online, here are 2 sites it might be on at:

CP24

http://www.ctvdigital.com/news/cp24/player.html

London Free Press

http://www.livestream.com/lfpress?referrer=mogulus

[Northern Rose]

Media Interviews at Scene of Found Remains - Remains Located by Victoria Stafford Investigators
    Chief Freeman and Detective Sergeant Anthony Renton to Give Interviews

    MOUNT FOREST, ON, July 20 /CNW/ - Chief Rod Freeman of the Oxford
Community Police Service (OCPS) and Detective Sergeant Anthony Renton of the
Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) Criminal Investigation Branch (CIB) will be
providing an investigative update as well as media interviews at the site
reserved for media near the location of the found remains this afternoon, July
20, 2009 at 1:30 p.m. at Line 6 and the 2nd Side road of Arthur Township.

    Time of Update:          1:30 p.m. EST

    Location of Interviews:  Media site on Line 6 at the 2nd Side road,
                             Arthur Township

    Directions to Site:      - Follow Highway 89 southbound, south of Mt.
                               Forest
                             - Proceed eastbound onto Concession 6 of
                               Arthur Twp.
                             - Follow to 2nd side road.
                             - Scene is approximately 2 kilometres south of
                               Hwy 89


For further information: Sergeant Pierre Chamberland, Media Relations
Coordinator, Corporate Communications Bureau, Phone: (705) 329-6878

http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/July2009/20/c7317.html

[Northern Rose]

15 minutes north of where the search has taken place to date
found by a grey building and large rockpile

[Northern Rose]

Tori's Father will speak at 2:00 this afternoon.  I am happy that they may have closure, however this is so hard today .  Everything points to this being Tori though nothing official has been said.

[Northern Rose]

Officer was driving and recognized the site profile they have been trying to find:

secluded country lane with house across from it,
wooded area,
large rock pile. 

He drove to the rockpile and found remains of a child.

[Northern Rose]

Stafford investigators found a child’s body

July 20, 2009
MOUNT FOREST – Investigators at the scene where the remains of a child have been found are refusing to confirm they are those of abducted Woodstock girl Tory Stafford.

OPP officers have closed off the area off a non descript gravel laneway where the remains were found Tuesday. The location is about two kilometers south of Highway 89, near Concession Road 6 and Side Road 2, in Arthur Township.

Officers at the scene say the discovery was made at noon Sunday by an officer using information gained over the course of the Stafford investigation.

A press conference is expected later today about the Stafford case.

A suspect in the case is purported to have told investigators that Stafford’s remains were dumped in a rural, farm area from which two silos were visible.

Officers at the scene of Sunday’s discovery say they do not know if that information is true.

Two silos are visible from where the remains were found.

Police are working with the Ontario Chief Coroners Office and the Centre of Forensic Sciences in an effort to positively identify the remains.

http://news.guelphmercury.com/News/article/511425

[Northern Rose]

Tori Stafford's family responds to discovery of remains — see live stream at 2 p.m. from Woodstock

Mon, July 20, 2009


WELLINGTON COUNTY, Arthur Township - It was a police officer's hunch that led to the discovery of human remains, believed to be those of Tori Stafford, yesterday afternoon.

A police officer driving down Concession Road 6 saw landmarks that matched tips given to police during the Stafford search - a farmhouse, a wooded area.

About 500 metres down the narrow access road, used mostly by the local Mennonites to cut across to the next concession, the officer found human remains, said OPP Sgt. Dave Rektor.

The remains were taken to the Centre of Forensic Sciences in Toronto, taken out just after noon in a hearse.

Police are "hopeful" the remains are those of Stafford, who would have celebrated her ninth birthday last Wednesday.

It's always a shock" when officers make such discoveries, Rektor added.

A police press conference is scheduled for 1:30 pm.

Tori's family will speak from Woodstock at 2 p.m. Their reaction will be streamed live here on lfpress.com.

http://lfpress.ca/newsstand/News/Local/2009/07/20/10193006.html

[Northern Rose]

Body found in Mount Forest area
OPP are confirming a body has been found in the Arthur Township area near Mount Forest. The remains were found by an investigator with the Tori Stafford case, however, police are not yet saying they are those of the little girl. An area has been coroned off and forensic identification has been called in. We're hoping to get more details later today.

http://www.cjbk.com/node/962855

[Northern Rose]

OPP call newser for 1:30pm following discovery of remains thought to be Tori Stafford; listen live at am980.ca

[Northern Rose]

Remains removed from site
Could be those of Victoria "Tori" Stafford
Posted By Bruce Urquhart
Posted 7 mins ago

MOUNT FOREST — Officers stood at attention and saluted as the hearse carrying the human remains pulled onto the road.

Accompanied by a police escort, the remains, reportedly those of a child, were being transported to Toronto's Centre of Forensic Sciences for identification through dental records. Still, investigators believe the could be those of Victoria "Tori" Stafford, the eight-year-old Woodstock girl who disappeared in early April.

The remains were discovered Sunday afternoon by an OPP investigator who was driving along this quiet rural road near Mount Forest. Noticing the area matched a "profile" developed by investigators — a rough access road across from a home —  the officer decided to search the nearby field.

On Monday, the scene was much busier, with members of the OPP's forensic identification unit and canine officers searching the area for evidence.

"It matched the description," said OPP Const. Mark Cloes. "The investigator felt the area fit the profile we were looking for."

When asked if Terri-Lynne McClintic, one of the accused in Tori's kidnap and murder, had helped with the search profile, Cloes said he didn't have that information.

The discovery of the remains comes only a few days after the lawyer for Michael Rafferty, the other Woodstonian charged with Tori's kidnap and murder, planned to plead not guilty.

Police are holding a press conference at 1:30 p.m. to provide further updates. we will bring you news from that press conference following its conclusion.

http://woodstocksentinelreview.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1664153

[no rose colored glasses]

Thank-you so much for all the updates.

[Northern Rose]

OPP believes body is Tori's

Jul 20, 2009 12:09 PM
Jim Wilkes, Jasmeet Sidhu
Staff Reporters

Ontario Provincial Police commissioner Julian Fantino said this morning that the human remains found near Mount Forest yesterday are likely those of Victoria Stafford.

"We have some very strong leads that cause us to believe that we have, in fact, located the human remains of Tori Stafford," Fantino told CP24.

"As sad as this is," added Fantino, "we're hopeful this will bring some closure to a very tragic and dastardly crime."

The OPP confirmed this morning that they found the remains of a child near Mount Forest in a heavily wooded area along a country lane off Concession No. 6, about six kilometres southwest of Mount Forest.

Remains were loaded into a hearse from Hendrick's Funeral Chapel in Mount Forest shortly before noon and the hearse drove off.

"It's a wooded area, there are tall trees, a lot of long grass and rocks," OPP Sgt. David Rektor said this morning as he stood beside yellow police tape, which sealed off the lane.

He said it's an area which a stranger would be unlikely to stumble upon.

"It's definitely known to the people in this area only," he said.

Asked whether there is any connection to the area and the two people under arrest for Tori's slaying, Rektor said: "We're not drawing any inferences at this point until we can positively identify the remains."

He said the body would be taken to the Centre of Forensic Sciences in Toronto "for further expert examination."

In Woodstock, a gold-coloured Intrepid pulled up to the home of Tori's mother, Tara McDonald, shortly before 10 a.m. and several people left.

There's a note on yellow paper taped to the screen door that reads, "Let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone. John 8:7."

The note was placed there shortly after the arrest May 19 of Terri-Lynne McClintic, 19, and Michael Rafferty, 28. They have been charged with kidnapping and first-degree murder.

"I pray to God it's her. Let us bring her back home to Woodstock," said local resident Shirley Robillard.

"I think it's good news. Everybody knew she is gone. This brings closure," said John Davis, who was rattled by the news.

Police said the remains were found at about noon yesterday by police searching for Victoria's body. OPP officers, using police dogs, were searching the ditches overgrown with weeds leading to the laneway in an effort to find evidence related to the case.

The remains were reportedly discovered about 15 minutes north of where the initial searches were conducted in the Guelph and Fergus areas.

Victoria was last seen leaving her school in Woodstock on April 8 with a woman in a white coat. The young girl, whose disappearance captured international headlines, would have turned 9 last week.

Woodstock Mayor Michael Harding said the possible discovery of Tori's remains will "re-open 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.

http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/article/668836