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

[Fanny Mae]

Is anyone but me having trouble lighting candles for Tori? I tried twice last night, and couldn't find my candles, and twice again today.
I lit candles on the other sites. It was just this one that I couldn't see mine.   

[Nut44x4]

Last updated on Monday, Jul. 20, 2009 03:32PM EDT
 
Stafford family hopes discovery brings closure



Shortly after a hearse rolled out of a field near Mount Forest, Ont., carrying the remains of a child believed to be eight-year-old Victoria (Tori) Stafford, the little girl's family said the discovery may finally provide closure to an agonizing three months since she went missing.

Rebecca Stafford, the girl's aunt, read a brief speech in Woodstock Monday afternoon, saying the family believes the remains, which still need to be examined at the coroner's office in Toronto, are Tori's.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/stafford-family-hopes-discovery-brings-closure/article1224911/

[Northern Rose]

Discovery of remains 'a relief' father says

Jul 20, 2009 03:06 PM
Jim Wilkes, jesse mclean
Staff Reporters

A grisly discovery south of Mount Forest is of a child's body that had been exposed to the elements for quite some time and police are "cautiously optimistic" it is the missing girl, Victoria Stafford.

The news, although not confirmed yet, is a relief "not just for the community but worldwide," said her sombre father, Rodney Stafford.

"Everybody is holding their children a whole lot closer."

New information led police yesterday to a wooded area with tall trees and rocks, said OPP Det. Inspector Anthony Renten. He wouldn't elaborate on if the information that sent them to a spot away from the previous search area came from either of the two people charged in the death and disappearance in April of the 8-year-old known as Tori.

"We're hoping the forensic evidence confirms our belief," Oxford Community Police Chief Rod Freeman said today at a news conference at the cordoned -off area.

A hearse from Hendrick's Funeral Chapel in Mount Forest drove away with the remains around noon.

"Since 6:04 on April 8, our main goal was to bring Victoria home," said Freeman. "It will be satisfying to some extent to provide some closure."

The officer who found the remains "was working with new information (that had) come to light," said Renten.

"A lot of good police work is a hunch," said Freeman. "The search revealed what we believe is very critical evidence."

"We have a very strong case," said Renten. "We are hopeful the forensic examination will give us more information to make that case better."

Terri-Lynne McClintic, 19, and Michael Rafferty, 28, were arrested May 19 and are charged with kidnapping and first-degree murder.

McClintic was initially helping police with their search.

The remains have been taken to the Centre of Forensic Sciences in Toronto "for further expert examination," police said. Neither Freeman nor Renten would speculate on how long that would take.

OPP Sgt. David Rektor said this morning the remains were found in a remote place. "It's definitely known to the people in this area only," he said.

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

Her voice breaking, Tori's aunt, Rebecca Stafford Nichols, said this afternoon that police came last night to tell family they had come across a site that raised their suspicions. This morning, she said, they confirmed it was the remains of a child.

"This is not the ending we were hoping for," said Stafford. And then, echoing her brother, she said: "But we're not going to be spending a life time wondering, looking in every car, in every back seat, through every window and wondering, 'Is Victoria there?'"

The girl's grandmother, Dorreen Graighen, told The Star earlier she heard the news around midnight.

"I didn't sleep well. You know when you have those feelings, your instinct. I just had this feeling (it was her)."

Rodney Stafford said he will bid his daughter goodbye at the end of his 3,400-kilometre bike ride across the country in honour of Tori, planned to raise money for Child Find Ontario, which works to find and protect missing children.

He was to leave Aug. 2 from Woodstock for Edmonton but the departure date now depends on the private family funeral for the little girl.

"I will say my goodbyes to Victoria when I get to the top of the mountain on my bike ride," Rodney Stafford said shortly after 2 p.m. Rodney also thanked police and everyone who had offered their support.

Stafford Nichols, wiping away tears, said she has "a lot of memories to hang on to," of Tori, most particularly a trip to Western Canada last year. Her message to the public: "Treasure our children now more than ever. Show them every minute, every day how much you love them."

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

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

Tori was last seen leaving her school in Woodstock with a woman in a white coat. The young girl, whose disappearance captured international headlines, would have turned 9 on July 15.

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

[Northern Rose]

Police suspect remains are Tori's
By KATE DUBINSKI, SUN MEDIA

Last Updated: 20th July 2009, 4:16pm

WELLINGTON COUNTY, Arthur Township - A bit of luck and dogged police work led to the discovery of remains police are hopeful are those of Tori Stafford, Oxford Community Police acting chief Rod Freeman said.

"We are hopeful that they are in fact the remains of Victoria Stafford so we can bring her home to our community and to her family," Freeman said this afternoon at a news conference about one kilometre from where the remains were found.

Today is Freeman's first day on the job - he takes over as chief from Ron Fraser, who announced his retirement shortly after the arrests of two people in connection with Stafford's disappearance.

"The officers have worked very, very hard to get this search together.

"The main goal has been to bring Victoria home."

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.

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

Stafford would have celebrated her ninth birthday last Wednesday.

http://www.torontosun.com/news/canada/2009/07/20/10199091.html#/news/canada/2009/07/20/pf-10192971.html

[Northern Rose]

Tori Stafford's family believe found remains are hers

By AMY FULLER The Canadian Press
Mon. Jul 20 - 2:42 PM

WOODSTOCK, Ont. — The family of little Tori Stafford expressed a sense of relief Monday that the remains of the eight-year-old girl abducted 3 1/2 months ago have most likely been found by police.

The girl's aunt told a news conference Monday that the discovery of a child's decomposed remains in Mount Forest, a 90-minute drive from Tori's Woodstock, Ont., home would prevent a lifetime of wondering if she was still alive.

Rebecca Stafford says hope for the safe return of the girl she called their ``sweetheart'' has finally dissolved.

She said the family girded for the worst when they were called by police Sunday night, but tried to take solace in resolution if they were told her body had been found.

``Our mentality going in was regardless of what they had to share, it would be positive because even though it's not the ending we were hoping for, we're not going to be spending a lifetime wondering,'' Stafford said.

``We're not going to be looking in every car, in every backseat that we drive by, in every window of every house we drive by, we're not going to be wondering if Victoria is in there. So, yes, there is a sense of relief.''

She said the family hadn't given up hope even after two people were charged.

``We've said all along until we had her physical being we would not speculate on her spirtual being,'' she said.

Tori's father, Rodney, said news that the extensive police search of the fields, rivers and woods of rural Ontario had finally yielded a body was not what the family was hoping to hear.

``Out of the scenarios we came up with, it was the worst of the possibilities,'' he said.

He said if the remains are confirmed to be those of Tori following examination at Toronto's Centre of Forensic Sciences there will be a private family funeral, and that will give him peace.

He said he will say his own personal goodbye at the top of an Alberta mountain after a bike ride across Canada in honour of his slain daughter.

He will delay his Aug. 2 departure date for the 3,400-kilometre ride if the funeral has not been held by that date.

The ride is intended to raise money for Child Find Ontario, a group that works to find and protect missing children.

Rodney Stafford said he hopes he can help other families in similar circumstances through his fundraising.

Acting Oxford Community police Chief Rod Freeman said evidence at the scene showed the remains had been exposed to the elements for many weeks.

Freeman said the remains were found at about noon on Sunday by a member of the police team searching for the girl's body.

``One of the investigators tied in with the Stafford case checked an area southeast of Mount Forest and located what they found to be possible human remains,'' said Const. Mark Cloes.

Tori was last seen leaving her school with a woman in the southwestern Ontario community of Woodstock on April 8.

The girl's disappearance captured the attention of Canadians coast to coast.

Hearts went out to the parents, who often appeared on television appealing for their young daughter's safe return.

In the days following Tori's disappearance the community rallied behind the family, plastering the town with hundreds of flyers, holding candelight vigils and balloon releases and participating in massive volunteer searches.

But court documents suggest Tori died the same day she was taken.

A grainy video of a woman in a white coat leading Tori away from school on the day she disappeared set off rumours in the tight-knit community about who the woman could be, including one that the dark-haired woman was Tori's own mother.

Tara McDonald called the allegation laughable, but revealed a number of strange twists in the case at her daily briefings including one that she accepted a ride in a limousine to meet a mysterious benefactor in a Toronto hotel who offered to pay any ransom demand. The family also sought the help of a psychic.

Two Woodstock residents, Michael Rafferty and Terri-Lynne McClintic, are charged with kidnapping and first-degree murder.

Their trials are not expected to begin until next year.

http://thechronicleherald.ca/Canada/9012643.html

[Northern Rose]

Aerial footage of remains scene.

<a href="http://www.theprovince.com/news/videos/index.html#7fz2vJ3mw_SvPTmyWZll9bkZ9sndo9PE" target="_blank">http://www.theprovince.com/news/videos/index.html#7fz2vJ3mw_SvPTmyWZll9bkZ9sndo9PE</a>

In case I embedded it incorrectly (again lol) here is the link

http://www.theprovince.com/news/videos/index.html#7fz2vJ3mw_SvPTmyWZll9bkZ9sndo9PE

[cookie]

how sad is all this!!!
that was a pretty good spot to put her....looks like it would have been almost impossible to have found her without someone like the guilty biotch girlfriend telling them the approximate area to look...my heart is breaking right now for this little girl who didn't deserve any of this...
God bless her...

[Anna]

This family can at least stop looking for their child however I doubt this is going to bring any real kind of closure or satisfaction.  Likely only rage.

Totally senseless and indefensible actions by people unfit to live in society.  I don't think Canada has the death penalty, does it?  Not even for children?  Some states here in the U.S. do not either.  I am thankful I do not live in one, though.

[Northern Rose]

This family can at least stop looking for their child however I doubt this is going to bring any real kind of closure or satisfaction.  Likely only rage.

Totally senseless and indefensible actions by people unfit to live in society.  I don't think Canada has the death penalty, does it?  Not even for children?  Some states here in the U.S. do not either.  I am thankful I do not live in one, though.

No Death penalty in Canada.  I wish that would change.

[Kat_Gram]

This family can at least stop looking for their child however I doubt this is going to bring any real kind of closure or satisfaction.  Likely only rage.

Totally senseless and indefensible actions by people unfit to live in society.  I don't think Canada has the death penalty, does it?  Not even for children?  Some states here in the U.S. do not either.  I am thankful I do not live in one, though.

There is no DP here. Regardless. Even if you kill an RCMP or a policeman or several children.
About twenty five years to life is the maximum. But then they get out. We have a Parole Board who makes some very bad decisions. They are way too lenient.
.
When Rodney Stafford passes thru my town in his way to the mountain, I will make sure I am there. People at my work were crying ( again ). This one has touched us all.

[Nut44x4]

Police to confirm whether remains belong to Tori
Updated: Tue Jul. 21 2009 8:08:01 AM

CTV.ca News Staff

Police are expected to confirm Tuesday that the remains of a young child found on the weekend are those of Victoria Stafford, an eight-year-old girl who went missing several months ago.

Police have indicated they believe the remains belong to Tori, but have not yet made an official confirmation.

http://toronto.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20090721/victoria_stafford_body_090621/20090721/?hub=TorontoNewHome

[can]

CP24 -Police will speak @ 9 a.m. and CP24 will carry live.

[can]

CP24 - Police have announced positive i.d. of Tori Stafford through dental records.  They visited with and informed Tori's parents last night.

R.I.P Tori -

[cookie]

thanks for the confirmation Can....it is the news that most of us expected to hear...sadly...hopefully her parents will find some sortof peace in knowing where their child is and can put her to rest....

damn! when is the murdering of our young children going to stop!!!

[can]

May the perpetrator/s of this crime against Tori - and all perpetrators of crimes against children - rot in hell!

[can]

thanks for the confirmation Can....it is the news that most of us expected to hear...sadly...hopefully her parents will find some sortof peace in knowing where their child is and can put her to rest....

damn! when is the murdering of our young children going to stop!!!

yw Cookie.  Yes at least Tori can be given the dignity of a decent burial.
Unfortunately I don't believe there is any getting over a loss of a child. 

Condolences to Tori's parents and brother and all who knew and loved her.

[MuffyBee]

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2009/07/21/stafford-murder021.html
Victoria Stafford's remains identified
Last Updated: Tuesday, July 21, 2009 | 9:16 AM ET


The remains found in an isolated, wooded area of southern Ontario on the weekend are those of schoolgirl Victoria Stafford, police confirmed Tuesday.

Forensic scientists in Toronto "positively identified the remains as those of Victoria Stafford," said Det.-Insp. Bill Renton, who headed the joint OPP-Oxford Community Police task force.

Victoria, also known as Tori, disappeared just after 3 p.m. on April 8, minutes after leaving her elementary school in Woodstock.

The last image of the child was captured on a security camera. It showed her being led away from the school by a woman with dark hair who was wearing a white coat.

For more than a month, police searched for Victoria. That ended in late May when police arrested two people and charged them with first-degree murder.

On Monday, OPP investigators confirmed the discovery of human remains in an area near the small farming community of Mount Forest, about 130 kilometres north of Woodstock.

They couldn't say conclusively the remains were those of Victoria, but hinted strongly that it was the likeliest outcome.

Police said an investigator working on the case acted on some information, and checked an area southeast of Mount Forest on Sunday. During the search, police located the body of a child.

Forensic testing in Toronto confirmed the findings, identifying Victoria by her dental records.

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

Their trials are expected to begin next year.

[can]

The remains of Victoria Stafford from Woodstock ON may have been found.  Please take the time to light a candle to remember Tori.

http://www.gratefulness.org/candles/candles.cfm?l=eng&gi=Tori

BUMP

[cookie]

thanks for the confirmation Can....it is the news that most of us expected to hear...sadly...hopefully her parents will find some sortof peace in knowing where their child is and can put her to rest....

damn! when is the murdering of our young children going to stop!!!

yw Cookie.  Yes at least Tori can be given the dignity of a decent burial.
Unfortunately I don't believe there is any getting over a loss of a child. 

Condolences to Tori's parents and brother and all who knew and loved her.

I agree...no way, no how can a parent ever get over the loss of a child....it has to be with them every moment for the rest of their lives...no parent should have to go through this...

[Nut44x4]

Agony of not knowing over for family

July 21, 2009
WOODSTOCK - Ontario Provincial Police this morning identified the body found in a Mount Forest field at Tori Stafford.

More than three months after the eight-year-old girl disappeared, her family now knows what happened to her. The agony of the unknown is over. Tori was identified through her dental records.

Police said Monday that they believed the remains found Sunday were those of the murdered girl. The Centre of Forensic Sciences in Toronto confirmed that identification last night.

Aunt Rebecca Stafford said the family girded for the worst when they were called by police Sunday night, but tried to take solace in resolution if they were told her body had been found.

"Our mentality going in was, regardless of what they had to share, it would be positive because, even though it's not the ending we were hoping for, we're not going to be spending a lifetime wondering," Stafford said Monday.

"We're not going to be looking in every car, in every backseat that we drive by, in every window of every house we drive by, we're not going to be wondering if Victoria is in there. So, yes, there is a sense of relief."

She said the family hadn't given up hope even after two people were charged with murdering Tori.

"We've said all along, until we had her physical being, we would not speculate on her spiritual being."

There's no longer any need for speculation.

Yesterday in Mount Forest,the black hearse rolled slowly back out the barely discernible farm track, fallow field on one side, thick woods on the other.

As it pulled onto a dusty rural road outside Mount Forest around noon yesterday, an OPP officer uttered a hushed word: "Attention."

Four police guarding the entrance saluted as the body of a child, unrecognizable from many weeks of exposure in thick brush, passed them on its way to the Centre of Forensic Sciences for final identification.
http://www.thespec.com/News/BreakingNews/article/603866