GUELPH, ONT. -- The Ontario Provincial Police helicopter dipped low in the sky, circling ever closer to an area it had flown over a half-dozen times already.
A few hundred metres below, across a brown and barren cornfield, OPP officers on foot probed the object of the helicopter's attention, the remains of an old barn. A police dog darted in and out of the site, not much more than a pile of rubble and wood, as its handlers watched for any sign it had picked up a scent.
Curious onlookers gathered along this rural side road just north of Guelph and raised their hands to shield their eyes from the sun as they contemplated the implication: Was this the place where eight-year-old Tori Stafford's body lay hidden? One long-time resident of this district of rolling farm fields and small stands of trees covered her mouth in horror as the realization took hold.
The search went on for close to an hour. Eventually, the police packed up the dog and drove away, leaving just one officer to monitor the scene, just off Highway 6 at County Road 22 nearly 100 kilometres from Woodstock where Tori was abducted six weeks ago.
Although the investigators offered no comment as they drove away, an officer who wasn't directly involved said it's unlikely anything was found. Just another possibility checked and ruled out.
At a news conference yesterday, Oxford Community Police Chief Ron Fraser said the most important deed left undone was to reunite Tori with her loved ones. Even as he spoke, a massive hunt was under way for the little girl's body.
OPP Detective Inspector William Renton said his officers were making a concerted effort.
"Our work is far from over, and we'll not stop until we're able to locate the whereabouts of Victoria Stafford," Det. Insp. Renton said. "Albeit not the way we ever wanted to find Tori, I can't stress the importance and significance of returning her to her loved ones."
But if the early stages of this search are any indication, it may prove difficult. Police are covering a broad swath of land north of Guelph, not far from Guelph Lake Conservation Area.
One officer said searchers could be using infrared cameras in the helicopter, but acknowledged that a body would not give off heat weeks after death. They would also be looking for areas of disturbed earth, where a hole might have been dug to conceal a body. But in a rural area dotted with dozens of farms, there will be hundreds of locations where the earth has been disturbed.
Police would not say yesterday whether the suspects being held in custody had provided any assistance in narrowing down the location of the body. Nor would they say why the hunt was focused north of Guelph. The search was being conducted by officers drawn from the OPP's regional emergency response team.
