Victoria Stafford probe troubled from the start

Police in Woodstock, Ontario, fumbled their investigation of the disappearance of eight-year-old Victoria (Tori) Stafford, right from the start. The first mistake, mostly overlooked by most observers, is right there in black and white.

Here's the news release Oxford Community Police issued the day after Victoria vanished. I've highlighted the error, which appears on the second page of the release.



The release describes Victoria's disappearance taking place on "Thursday, April 8." The release was issued on Thursday, April 9.

Victoria disappeared on Wednesday, April 8.

Now, more than a week after she vanished, the error doesn't seem like a big deal. But, did it cause any confusion in those crucial first 48 hours after she vanished? Did it leave anyone uncertain whether she'd been missing 12 hours, at the time the release was issued, or whether she'd been missing just a few hours? Given other criticism of the local department, this mistake doesn't breed confidence in their ability to handle a complex, high profile case. (The department has 84 officers to serve a community of 62,000 people, according to the latest StatsCan figures - though other agencies are helping with the investigation). Many people, including Victoria's mother, are asking why police have not declared it an abduction. Police may have a good reason for that, but they haven't shared it publicly, nor have they tipped their hand, as departments often do. It's not uncommon for a police agency, investigating the disappearance of a child, to issue a release or make statements, something to the effect that: 'We don't believe there is any cause for alarm in the community. We do not believe a predator is on the loose and we do not believe this is a random act.' This kind of statement is meant to telegraph, without giving away much, that investigators suspect the child is a victim of a local dispute, perhaps involving family members or acquaintances of the family. It is a reasonable measure for police to take, to reassure an alarmed community that a sexual predator or random killer is not on the loose.

But there's been no such statement from Woodstock police, except for a few puzzling public comments by a police spokeswoman who said, days after the disappearance, that investigators believed Victoria was still alive. Five days after the child apparently walked away from her elementary school with a mysterious, unidentified woman, police called off the ground search for her, again, without explanation except the statement that they considered it a missing persons case.

Police have scheduled a news conference for today (Friday, April 17) in which, for the first time in nine days, a senior officer is expected to comment on the case.

Related post: Is Victoria still alive?

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