Thursday, May 28, 2009

Police forensic investigators in Canada continue the search for the body of eight-year-old Victoria Stafford, whom they now believe was murdered on the same day she was abducted, April 8, 2009 from her Woodstock, Ontario school.

Counselors have been providing support to students at Oliver Stephens Public School.

There have been two arrests made, one for the first-degree murder and abduction of Tori Stafford and the other person has been charged with being an accessory and abduction. The next court appearance is May 28.

Police and neighbours say that the parents of Tori may have been familiar with at least one of the abductors.

The search continues for the body of Tori as well as the rear seat of a vehicle connected with the abduction. The search area is around Guelph, and Fergus north east of Woodstock.

Police are seeking information about a blue 2003 four-door Honda which is believed to be blue with black spray paint on large portions of it. Investigators believe it to have been in the Home Depot parking lot in Guelph on the evening of April 8, the day of the abduction.

The grey cloth covered back seat from the above vehicle is missing and police are seeking to recover it. Police have been combing rural areas and scouring lake bottoms in the hopes of turning up more evidence.

“We continue to receive information on all different parts of the investigation and each piece of lead or tip, if you will, is being investigated as far as it can take us,” said Laurie-Anne Maitland, an Oxford Community Police Constable. “If I were her parent I would want to have that ounce of hope too until I knew 100 per cent. I think it’s the nature [of people to hope for] one possible little miracle … and it’s not [possible].”

Woodstock, the home town of Tori is located in the county of Oxford, and the search has spread out to the neighbouring county of Wellington. The city of Guelph is located about 42 miles (68 km) to the north east, and Fergus which is north of Guelph is about 57 miles (92 km) from Woodstock.