Tori Stafford Update

WOODSTOCK, Ont. — June 21 has been set as the start of a preliminary hearing for one of two people charged in the Tori Stafford case.

The eight-year-old Woodstock, Ont., girl vanished April 8, 2009 and her remains were found more than three months later. The hearing for Michael Rafferty, who is charged with first-degree murder and kidnapping, is expected to last about four weeks.

His co-accused, Terri-Lynne McClintic, is being tried separately on the same charges.

A preliminary hearing allows a judge to weigh the evidence and decide if the case can move forward to trial.

Tori's father, Rodney Stafford, was in court today and said he is disappointed he'll miss the hearing in June.

He will be starting his "Kilometres for Kids 2" fundraiser at that time, cycling from Edmonton to Woodstock with his son, Daryn, in support of Child Find Ontario.

R.I.P. Tori Stafford

A man has been charged with murder and a woman has been charged with being an accessory to murder in connection with the case of missing Woodstock, Ont. girl Victoria "Tori" Stafford.

Authorities are expected to release details of the arrest at 3 p.m. Wednesday. (source)

Mother Believes Her Daughter Is Alive

The Oxford Community Police and the Ontario Provincial Police say they have received more than 2,500 tips since releasing footage of a small to mid-sized, dark coloured station wagon with an approximate 262 centimetre wheel base.

Investigators named the car``a vehicle of interest." Police also confirmed through surveillance video that Stafford and her abductor were walking east across Fyfe Ave. and crossing into the parking lot of Caressant Care Nursing and Retirement home.

The abduction investigation has yielded no leads released to the public of Tori's whereabouts since she disappeared April 8th.

Today the mother, Tara McDonald who missed a press conference yesterday due to 'nightmares' says she believes her eight-year-old daughter is alive and hopes she will be found soon.



A $50,000 reward has been offered for information leading to the whereabouts of Victoria Stafford and arrest of abductor.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Oxford Community Police at 519-537-2323 (Toll Free 1-877-537-6277) or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.

Possible Witness To Abduction of Tori Stafford

Monday the Ontario Provincial Police released new video footage they hope may provide a lead in finding the missing eight-year-old Victoria Stafford.

The dark coloured station wagon drove past Tori walking with what police believe is her abductor. It was driving northbound on Fyfe Avenue in Woodstock, Ontario. Investigators would like to speak with the driver of the vehicle, saying the person may be a valuable witness.

The exact model of the vehicle is still not known.

[Click here to watch the video]

OPP Searching Landfill for Tori's Clothing

Ontario Provincial police (OPP) said they will continue to search the Oxford County Landfill in Woodstock. The team of 20 or more officers are searching for clothing worn by Tori on April 8th.

During a brief news conference yesterday, the mother of Stafford, Tara McDonald appealed to her child's abductor:

"I'm hoping that guilt just eats them. I hope that they see the pain and the agony that they care causing my family...I hope that they feel guilty and they just let her go...Go away, drop her off in a remote place and go so you don't get in any trouble. I think that's awful to say as a Mom myself because what if they do it again? But if that's what gets my daughter back and they figure out later on who it was from my daughter, then fine."

Update on missing Victoria "Tori" Stafford

The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) reclassified Tori's case from "missing person" to "abduction" this weekend.

On Saturday, the Under Water Search and Recovery Unit (USRU) searched the Southside Park Pond for a second time. The shallow pond is half a kilometre from where Tori was last seen. Tori's father, Rodney Stafford told police he searched the area hours after his daughter went missing. So far, they haven't found anything.

"I'm out here looking for my daughter, but this is the point in time I don't want to find her," Stafford said.

The local Oxford Community Police continued their search with door-to-door canvasing in the community. The first door-to-door search ended last Monday. Sgt. Wayne Czepanski said the Easter long weekend meant many residents weren't home. Police say a few working-class residents were not aware of Tori's abduction.

The family of Victoria Stafford has released a home video of Tori playing outside. Click here to watch.

Parents of Victoria "Tori" Stafford Offer Reward

In interviews with media outlets on Thursday, the parents of Victoria said they are offering a $10,000 reward for her safe return with no questions asked.

"We just want her home safely. And we just want this to be over and done with. We don't need to know a reason -- we've racked our brains. We don't have any idea why anybody would do this...It's a nightmare," said mother Tara Mcdonald.

Tori's grandmother, Doreen Graichen said Tori's father, Rodney Stafford has refused to sleep in looking for her day and night.

Graidchen is part of Help Find Victoria Stafford. The site has already has almost 10,000 members.

Click here to visit the site and spread the support

Missing Victoria "Tori" Stafford of Woodstock, Ontario

Eight-year-old Victoria "Tori" Stafford has been missing since April 8th from Woodstock, Ontario. Tori's parents reported their daughter missing after she did not return home from Woodstock's Oliver Stephens Public School on Wednesday afternoon. Tori's teachers told police that she attended all her classes with no reports of problems.

Tori has short blond hair, is about 4'5", weighs 62 pounds and has blue eyes. She was wearing a black Hannah Montana Jacket with a white fur-lined hood when she went missing.

Oxford Community Police obtained surveillance video from a nearby high school that showing a girl matching Tori's description walking along side an adult woman on March 8th.

Oxford Community police Const. Laurie-Ann Maitland announced that Tori has now been 'positively identified' as the girl captured on footage.

Police released surveillance video:

The 8-year-old is seen walking at 3:32 p.m. in the direction of her home with unknown person.

"The lady we're looking to speak with, who is a person of interest, is a white female, 19 to 25 years old, approximately 5'1" or 5'2" and between 120 and 125 pounds," said Maitland.

"To actually see Victoria skipping alongside this person, it's rather obvious that she knows who she's with," he said.

Both parents said they have not slept much since reporting Tori missing at 6 p.m. Wednesday. Police started looking for her at 7:30 p.m. in a door-to-door search. The next morning 40 officers and canine units walked in and around the neighbourhood.

The police did not issue an Amber Alert because it doesn't meet certain criteria.

"I cannot stress enough that it does not change the investigation in any way of how serious it is," Const. Laurie_Ann Maitland said.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Oxford Community Police at 519-421-2800.