I find myself hoping for the best but expecting the worst. Barely 60 kilometres east of here, the city of Woodstock, Ontario reels four days after an eight-year-old girl went missing. Not a stone is being left unturned as police and search teams do everything in their power to find her, yet despite their best efforts it seems as if she's vanished off the face of the earth.
I'm left wondering about the monsters among us who would take a child. I'm left wondering why not even a small city is safe enough to raise a child. I'm left watching our own children, wondering what I'd do if they suddenly vanished. I'm left afraid to even consider that possibility any further.
Tori's aunt has set up a Facebook page here. Volunteers, police and emergency responders from Woodstock and the entire region, including London, continue to scour the area 24/7. Her father's vowed to not sleep until she's found. Everyone else continues to pray for a happy ending, where a missing child comes home safely and her family continues on unbroken.
The world, after all, is broken enough as it is.
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# 23 of MY THIRTY DAYS OF THANKSGIVING
3 hours ago
17 comments:
We join your prayer.
Aloha, Carmi
Oh yes, we've had a more than our share of Missing children here in Florida (The Crazy State). Victoria will cettianly be in my thoughts.
Gee, I'll have to ask some of the residents in the RV Park (whre I live) if they know the family. From what I uh=nderstand, it's a small community.
Let us know if they find her.
I live in Woodstock and i can't believe this has happened. I had just started giving my 13 yr old a bit more freedom and now i want to pull her back and just keep her safe with me. We are all praying and hoping that Tori has a safe return.
Penney
Another prayer for her safe return home.
I pray that Victoria comes home safe. This is the worst crime imaginable.
I cannot imagine the pain they are in and I am so sad for that scared little girl. Thank you for writing this. I'm down the road in Tavistock and it's really hitting home in this little community as well. We all want to be out looking and we don't know where to start. I hold my children a little closer and feel sad that this is the type of world they have to grow up in sometimes. They see the pictures and they ask questions and what do you say to them. Please please be ok Victoria.
Breeze
Not the holiday I'd imagine they planned for. Hopefully there's some less sinister explanation. I hope and pray she'll return safely home. I don't know anything to do other than that.
We know the feelings, Carmi - Cédrika Provencher, who was 10 at the time, disappeared from Trois Rivières in July of 2007 and has never been found. Her bike and helmet were found but that's all. The heartache of parents whose children go missing is unimaginable. Thoughts go out to your community for Tori's safe return.
I am sorry you have the same problems as we do in the UK. Occasionally there are better endings and I just pray that this will be one of those times.
So scary ... reminds me, sadly, of little Etan Patz who one sunny day in May, 1979, left for school and vanished ... I hope this little girl is found soon .. safe and unharmed
I can't imagine what these people are going through.
My heart goes out to her family and friends. I keep praying that they find her safe and sound, but as each day passes it is hard keep hopes high.
I pray for her and those who love her.
Makes me want to hold our kids even tighter.
comme cedrika provencher?BON COURAGE AUX PARENTS,GARDEZ ESPOIR
i too am praying for her safe return..my heart breaks more every night as i watch the news and another day has gone by..i live in london and grew up in windsor and i too think 'how could this happen? this happens in the states, not in ontario canada'
This poor little girl must be so scared. I hope & pray that she is returned safely. I'm sure this whole tragedy has weighed heavily on the minds of the French family from St. Catharines. It was days before the Easter weekend 17 years ago that their daughter Kristen went missing as she was walking home from school. This, I am sure must be making them relive that whole experience as the stories are very similar. I just hope that the outcome this time is much different and the little girl is returned to her family unharmed.
I'm from Waterloo, Ont. and I have been following this story since it happened. I saw her devastated parents on the news and I can't imagine what they are going through. The fact that someone can take a child in broad daylight and lead them away, possibly forever, makes me sick to my core. I am praying very hard for Victoria and her family and also I'm praying the woman in the surveillance video does the right thing and comes forward. What could she possibly want from little Victoria? I wonder if she could have met her online possibly, like say on the Webkinz website? Perhaps the woman disguised herself as someone Victoria's age. We do not often think of women as being predators but I suppose in rare cases, they do exist. It's terrifying to contemplate but as time goes by, it becomes more and more worrying. I am often criticized by peers and in-laws etc for being 'overprotective' and while statistically they say our children are safe, it DOES happen. We should be comfortable in letting our children walk to and from school. We shouldn't have to worry about predators but they are out there. It's always rare and unlikely until it happens to you. I will continue to pray for the best possible outcome for Victoria and her family and that she is returned safely.
I'm from Waterloo, Ont. and I have been following this story since it happened. I saw her devastated parents on the news and I can't imagine what they are going through. The fact that someone can take a child in broad daylight and lead them away, possibly forever, makes me sick to my core. I am praying very hard for Victoria and her family and also I'm praying the woman in the surveillance video does the right thing and comes forward. What could she possibly want from little Victoria? I wonder if she could have met her online possibly, like say on the Webkinz website? Its very popular with the kids.Perhaps the woman disguised herself as someone Victoria's age. We do not often think of women as being predators but I suppose in rare cases, they do exist. It's terrifying to contemplate but as time goes by, it becomes more and more worrying. I am often criticized by peers and in-laws etc for being 'overprotective' and while statistically they say our children are safe, it DOES happen. We should be comfortable in letting our children walk to and from school. We shouldn't have to worry about predators but they are out there. It's always rare and unlikely until it happens to you. I will continue to pray for the best possible outcome for Victoria and her family and that she is returned safely.
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