WOODSTOCK, Ont. -

It has been an agonizing, nearly sleepless three days for Rodney Stafford since his eight-year-old daughter disappeared.
  
He said he is barely keeping it together, but what hits him hardest is seeing the smiling face of his "baby girl" on missing posters everywhere he turns in this small southwestern Ontario city.

"It's killing me," Stafford said Saturday. "(I want to) let her know that I love her and I'll see her soon. One way or another I'll see her soon."

Victoria Stafford was last seen leaving her school in Woodstock, east of London, Wednesday afternoon. Police say they've identified Victoria in surveillance video around the time she was last seen, walking with a woman whom police call a "person of interest."

Police have not declared Victoria's disappearance foul play, but haven't ruled it out.

"There are a lot of different possibilities," said Oxford Community Police Const. Laurie-Anne Maitland.

"Not everyone that takes a child hurts a child. There are lots of different scenarios that we can be weighing. Is it possible? Absolutely. But is the opposite possible? Absolutely. I'd like to say foul play is not suspected at all, but that would be inaccurate."

Stafford said he just wants to have his beautiful daughter return home.

"I've had a lot of problems come up in my life and stuff like that, and I haven't always been there for my kids, but this is my baby girl and it's absolutely hurting now," Stafford said.

"I'm having a real hard time."

When Stafford walks through the city streets, he is surrounded by posters that have been plastered up by an army of volunteers.

"Now that I'm seeing all the flyers and stuff, every time I walk past all I want to do is cry," he said.

He describes his daughter as a smart, one-of-a-kind, bubbly girl who just wants to spend time with her family and friends. Stafford also said his 10-year-old son Daryn is having a difficult time because he and his sister Victoria are "two peas in a pod."

Stafford and Victoria's mother separated in December and he called it "an ongoing struggle."

A veritable army of volunteers flooded a retail parking lot next to the police station Friday to help with the search efforts and dozens more passed out flyers. Stafford said he was deeply touched by the outpouring of support.

"It's outstanding," he said. "Even people I know that dislike me and stuff, they're out searching for my baby. That means so much."

The around-the-clock search for Victoria continued Saturday mostly in an official capacity, with search and rescue crews from nearby London co-ordinating the effort.

While the offer of support from hundreds of volunteers from the community is wonderful, it's a bit difficult to oversee, Maitland said. A volunteer search group would have to be supervised by an official to ensure any evidence was gathered properly.

Family and friends gathered in a park Saturday afternoon, wearing purple sweatshirts and making purple ribbons. Purple is Victoria's favourite colour.

Family friend Angela Vlug said police should have put out an Amber alert when Victoria was reported missing.

There is very specific criteria for an Amber Alert to be triggered. Police must believe a child under 18 has just been abducted, is believed to be in danger of serious bodily harm and there is descriptive information of a suspect or vehicle that can be immediately broadcast.

Some in the community, Vlug included, have questioned why that was not done in this case.

"She's a beautiful little girl," she said. "Unfortunately I'm afraid that she slipped through the cracks."

However, Vlug and many others are still holding onto hope that the little girl will return home safely.

"I truly believe that she's OK somewhere," Vlug said.

Other parents in Woodstock were holding their children a little bit tighter Saturday.

James Schumann, 31, doesn't know what he would do if his six-year-old son Dion went missing.

He said he has been keeping an extra close eye on the boy since Victoria's disappearance.

"It's pretty devastating," he said.

"I hope it doesn't happen to (my child). I'm pretty much watching, see where he's going, make sure nothing like this would happen to him."

Jason Gardyne, a father of three, said it worries him that Victoria seems to have just vanished.

"I've lived here all my life -- 34 years -- and I've never heard anything like that," he said, while taking a walk with his seven-year-old daughter.

However, he said he still doesn't let his children walk home from school alone.
  
"I keep a pretty close eye on them," Gardyne said.

The community is also planning a candlelight vigil for Sunday night.

Meanwhile, Victoria's family has pledged a $10,000 reward for her return. On Saturday, an independent Quebec businessman also came forward with his own $5,000 reward for information.

"It's to be used by the police as they see fit," said Sid Stevens, the executive director of Sun Youth Montreal, who is acting on behalf of the anonymous donor.

"He said he wants to show solidarity ... He just feels that in times of tragedy, people (should) turn around and do something positive."

Police in Woodstock and in Montreal have been advised of the reward, Stevens said.