 Tara McDonald the mother of Victoria "Tori" Stafford speaks to the media on Friday ay 22, 2009 in Woodstock, Ontario. Police are still searching for the body of the missing eight-year-old. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Dave Chidley
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By the time police seized a Honda Civic they believe was used to abduct Tori Stafford, the entire backseat was ripped out, officials disclosed Sunday afternoon.
The seat had been covered in grey cloth and police have asked for public help finding it.
"If located, police investigators ask that it not be touched, simply report it to police immediately and without physically touching it, try to protect it from the elements until investigators can attend the scene," police wrote in a release Sunday afternoon.
Police wouldn't say Sunday if they believe the seat was torn out before the abduction, perhaps to make it easier to conceal a child, or afterwards, to dispose of potential evidence.
Last week, police said they believed Stafford was taken by her abductors in the Civic from Woodstock to Guelph, where there's evidence they were seem in or near a Home Depot Plaza.
Sources say the vehicle belongs to Michael Thomas C.S. Rafferty, 28, charged with abduction and first-degree murder in little Tori’s disappearance April 8 after school in Woodstock.
A co-accused, 18-year-old Terri-Lynne McClintic, also of Woodstock, is reportedly co-operating with police in their search for the remains of the Grade 3 girl.
Jonathan Sher is a Free Press reporter.
