Mother of missing 3-year-old girl from LaSalle being interviewed by police; body of chihuahua possibly found (2025)

Posted June 16, 2025 8:41 am.

Last Updated June 16, 2025 6:02 pm.

Quebec provincial police say the mother of a missing three-year-old child who was last seen in LaSalle Sunday morning is the one who reported her missing about 50 kilometres away, and she’s now being interviewed by police.

The Sûreté du Québec says Claire Bell was last seen at her home Sunday around 9:45 a.m. near Newman Boulevard. She was reported missing by her mother around 3 p.m., more than five hours later, at a business in Coteau-du-Lac, in Montérégie.

“We can confirm that it was the mother of Claire Bell, the three-year-old child, who arrived here at the store with her vehicle and told people here that she no longer knew where her child was, that she had lost her child,” the SQ’s Jean Raphaël Drolet told reporters from Coteau-du-Lac Monday afternoon.

Investigators are trying to determine what happened between 9:45 a.m. and 3 p.m.

“There is information, obviously, that I cannot share at this time,” Drolet said. “What I can tell you right now is that we really need to clarify this situation. There are details that are not yet precise, that are not clear.

“We are corroborating certain information and we are also clarifying certain information.”

Police describe the girl, who speaks English, as three feet tall, weighing about 35 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes. She was last seen wearing a white long-sleeve shirt with pink on the collar and grey pants, and was barefoot when she went missing.

Officials say they searched through the night in both LaSalle and Coteau-du-Lac, and also made verifications in Ontario, using helicopters, drones, and tracking dogs in the search. Police are not explaining the connection between those three locations, or offering hypotheses on what happened.

“What’s very important is that at the time the disappearance was reported, we were in Coteau-du-Lac, and an operation was launched here to comb the surrounding area,” said Drolet. “It continued throughout the evening and into the night. At the same time, we also went to the child’s home in Ville LaSalle, where there was also a search operation conducted by the Montreal police department. And throughout the night, here in Coteau-du-Lac, in Montreal, there were operations to try to locate this child.

“There was even information that was corroborated on the Ontario side, so police officers went to the other side of the border here to corroborate certain information. But for the moment, the perimeter is still quite large.”

Grey 2007 Ford Escape

The mother pulled up to the business in Coteau-du-Lac driving a grey 2007 Ford Escape with licence plate K50FVE with a yellow “baby on board” sticker on the back windshield.

The SQ is asking anyone who may have seen that vehicle between 9:45 a.m. and 3 p.m. to contact them.

“The area, obviously, is between the home and Coteau-du-Lac,” said Drolet. “It’s not ruled out that the vehicle moved elsewhere. So what should be mentioned is that it was dropped off here (in Coteau-du-Lac), it was parked in front here, but it could be found in the surrounding area, in the region, and we even think on the Ontario side. It’s a possibility.

“So people who saw this vehicle, don’t hesitate to call us.

“We also transmit the information to people who live in the area here to check backyards and buildings located on residential lots and if they witness any anomalies or elements that are not normal to simply contact the police so that we can check them.”

Quebec provincial police were also asking people to be on the lookout for a long-haired chihuahua with reddish-brown fur, who may have been with the girl.

Later Monday, authorities say they recovered the body of an animal that possibly matched this description along Highway 30 near a wooded area near Vaudreuil.

The SQ says it is verifying if it is the same dog.

Police said that could give investigators an area to concentrate their search.

Police originally reported that the child was last seen on Saturday at 11 a.m., but they changed that to Sunday after new elements emerged.

No Amber Alert

An Amber Alert has not been issued, as provincial police say the case does not meet the required criteria — namely they don’t believe the child was abducted.

To trigger an Amber Alert, police must not only believe that a child has been abducted, but also that the child’s life or physical safety is in serious danger. As well, police must have information that may help locate the child, the suspect or the vehicle they’re travelling in.

Anyone with information is asked to call 911 or contact the Sûreté du Québec’s criminal information centre at 1-800-659-4264.

–With files from The Canadian Press