WOODSTOCK, Ont. — A massive search was underway Wednesday for the body of missing Ontario girl Victoria (Tori) Stafford in southwestern Ontario, police said, after two suspects appeared in court charged in connection with the Woodstock girl's murder.
"We won't stop searching until we are able to locate the whereabouts of Victoria," said OPP Det. Insp. William Renton. "I can't stress the importance of returning her to her loved ones."
He said the public would be notified when her remains had been found.
"This is certainly not the end anybody or anyone was hoping for," said Oxford Community Police Chief Ron Fraser, also speaking at the news conference.
The search is concentrated in a rural area called Rockwood, northwest of Guelph, Ont., 70 kilometres northeast of Woodstock. Police would not confirm the location.
"There's quite an operation working out of our local (Ontario Provincial Police) station and a firehall — which are right next to each other," said Chris White, mayor of the Township of Guelph/Eramosa, from his home in Rockwood, Ont., about eight kilometres east of Guelph. "It seems like they've turned that into a headquarters. They're probably utilizing all the resources they have."
Court documents show that Michael Thomas C.S. Rafferty, 28, has been charged with one count of first-degree murder and one count of abduction. Eighteen-year-old Terri-Lynne McClintic is also charged with abduction and accessory after the fact to murder.
The couple is scheduled to appear in court via videolink on May 28.
It's alleged that Stafford was killed on April 8, the same day she went missing after she was seen on surveillance camera footage walking away from her school willingly with an unidentified woman.
McClintic's charge is in connection with knowing about the homicide and "enabled him (Rafferty) to escape," the documents said.
According to Global Toronto, Rafferty broke down sobbing in court early Wednesday and said: "I didn't do it." McClintic, who wore glasses and her hair in cornrows, kept her head lowered as she was led into court.
As police escorted Rafferty out of the courthouse, he covered his head with his shirt and said nothing. A crowd had gathered, while some shouted at the accused. One person was heard yelling "where's Tori?" as police pushed the group back, yelling loudly for the crowd to "back off, back off."
One of Tori's uncles had to be physically restrained outside the courtroom after he began shouting at Rafferty as he was being led away to a police van.
The pair were arrested after midnight at a rundown house in Woodstock.
Tori's mother's best friend, Sarah Leeper, told the National Post that this was the "worst-case scenario" as she headed toward Tara McDonald's home.
When contacted at home early Wednesday by Canwest News Service, Tori's uncle, Rob Stafford, said the family had "no comment" about the arrests.
Barb Derbowka, Victoria's second cousin, said she is "at a loss for words over how people can be so cruel."
Police raided the house of a woman and her daughter just after midnight Wednesday.
Reporters and neighbours have gathered outside the home on Wilson Street. The house is under police guard.
Neighbour Craig Racine said a woman named Carol and her daughter, Terri-Lynne live in the home, which he said was in a rough area of town. Racine said the house regularly has broken up furniture on the patio. He would not comment on whether he was the one who tipped off the police about the suspect, but said he recognized a composite sketch of the woman shown on TV.
Tori's 29-year-old aunt, Rebecca Stafford of Sherwood Park, Alta., said Wednesday she feels "disbelief" at the charges.
"I'm waiting to hear back from my family for more information about what's going on. It's been a long time coming for some answers," said Stafford.
Tori, as she is called by friends, has been missing for six weeks.
She was last seen on a surveillance camera willingly walking away with an unidentified woman after school on April 8. Police released a composite sketch of an unidentified white female, believed to be 19 to 25 years old, with long, straight, black hair past her shoulders, worn in a ponytail. She was wearing a white winter jacket and tight black jeans.
Rodney Stafford said at the time of the release that he "strongly believes" the woman is someone he knew in high school. Her mother, Tara McDonald, however, said she did not recognize the woman.
Oxford police classified her disappearance as a missing-person case for 10 days until it was later determined she had been abducted.
McDonald has held daily news conferences outside her home since Tori's disappearance. The briefings have been, at times, emotionally charged, with Tori's parents fighting and McDonald admitting to her former addiction to the painkiller OxyContin.
She told reporters she used OxyContin two to three times a week, but started going to a methadone clinic two years ago, because she wanted to gain control of her life.
She said Tori and her brother Daryn, 10, never knew she was taking drugs, and it never affected her ability to care for her kids.
Both the girl's parents were given lie-detector tests by police, and were never declared suspects.
On many occasions, McDonald told the media she believed Tori was taken because of her attractive physical appearance, and made repeated pleas to the captors to "just drop her off somewhere.'"
There are various online Facebook groups dedicated to finding the Grade 3 student, with one group having more than 120,000 members.
A reward of $50,000 was offered by the Oxford Community police for information leading to the arrest of Tori's abductors.
Woodstock is located about 50 kilometres west of Toronto.
National Post with files from Lisa Hepfner, CHCH News, Global Toronto,Edmonton Journal and Canwest News Service
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