Victoria Stafford, shown in a family handout photo from July 2008, was last seen leaving her school in Woodstock, Ont., on Wednesday afternoon. (Canadian Press)

Police in southwestern Ontario have released an enhanced video clip that investigators hope will help identify a woman who led a missing eight-year-old Woodstock girl away from her school six days ago.

On Monday, police called off the massive ground search for Victoria Stafford, saying it appears she left her school last Wednesday "willingly" with the woman and no evidence has been found to suggest foul play.

Oxford Community Police Const. Laurie-Anne Maitland said investigators believe the Grade 3 student, known to her friends as Tori, is still alive and knew the woman.

A Citytv journalist who watched the enhanced video with some of the girl's relatives reported they may now recognize the woman by her walk. The relatives did not say who they thought the woman was, the reporter said.

The woman's face is not clear in the enhanced video. She is described by police as between 19 and 25 years old, between 120 and 125 pounds, with long, straight black hair in a ponytail.

She was wearing a baggy white coat and black jeans.

Police issued a new, less grainy version of a surveillance video, giving what investigators hope is a clearer view of the unidentified woman last seen with missing Victoria. (CBC)

Even after the ground search ended, officers could be seen canvassing door to door in the area around the girl's school, which is also the area where her mother, Tara McDonald, lives.

Police have received more than 300 tips from the public and are examining a "variety of items" found in the ground search, but none of the items was related to what the girl was wearing at the time of her disappearance, Maitland said.

Behavioural specialists from the Ontario Provincial Police have been called in to develop a profile of someone who might be involved in the girl's disappearance.

Stafford's parents separated last December. Her father, Rodney Stafford, who described the relationship as "an ongoing struggle," has said he doesn't believe any of Victoria's relatives are behind her disappearance.

Students return to school

The girl's disappearance has sent shockwaves through the community of about 35,000 residents east of London.

Classes at Oliver Stephens Public School resumed on Tuesday after the Easter break, while trauma counsellors were on hand to help Stafford's classmates cope with her disappearance and answer any questions they might have.

The girls' teachers said their focus was to maintain as much normalcy as possible for the students, the CBC's Nil Koksal reported from Woodstock.

Meanwhile, parents outside the school expressed hope Stafford will be returned to her loved ones safely — and soon.

"We just hope the best for her and the family," said Jeff Ebel, whose seven-year-old son Colton is one of Stafford's classmates.

"I don't wish that upon anybody, and I hope the person, whoever did it, would let her go."

Anyone with information can call police at (519) 537-2323 or contact Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-TIPS.

With files from The Canadian Press