Yellow police tape blocks access to a rural area near Mount Forest, Ont., where police have found human remains. (Lorenda Reddekopp/CBC)

Human remains found in southwestern Ontario are almost certainly those of Victoria Stafford, a Woodstock schoolgirl who has been missing for three months, according to the head of the provincial police.

"We have some very strong leads that cause us to believe that we have in fact located the human remains of [Victoria] Tori Stafford," Ontario Provincial Police Commissioner Julian Fantino said.

Victoria Stafford disappeared on April 8 while on her way home from school in Woodstock. (Handout/Canadian Press)

Victoria, who was eight years old, disappeared April 8 while on her way home from school in Woodstock. Until now, a massive search effort had failed to find a trace of the girl, even after two people were charged with kidnapping and first-degree murder in the case.

On Monday, police confirmed that remains had been found Sunday near Mount Forest, about 95 kilometres north of Woodstock.

Police said new information led them to the location.

"We are hopeful that those are in fact the remains of Victoria Stafford, and the reason for that is we want to be able to bring her home — bring her home to the city of Woodstock and back to her family," said Chief Rod Freedman of the Oxford Community Police force.

Exposed to elements

Freedman told a news conference near the site of the discovery that investigators had found remains in a wooded area of bush that had been "exposed to the elements for quite some time."

He said he hoped confirmation of the identity could be provided quickly after the Centre for Forensic Science in Toronto is able to compare dental records.

"We're hoping the forensic identification confirms our belief, but it will be satisfying to some extent to be able to bring Victoria home and reunite her with our community and provide some closure for her family," Freedman said.

The officer who headed the investigation into Victoria's abduction and killing said the discovery probably ends the search.

"At this point we are hopeful that we will be able to honour the life of Victoria Stafford by reuniting her with her loved ones in Woodstock," Det.-Insp. Bill Renton said in a release.

The remains were found Sunday near Mount Forest, about 95 kilometres north of Woodstock.

OPP Sgt. Dave Rektor told CBC News that investigators found the remains Sunday in an area about 40 kilometres northwest of Guelph.

Rektor said the remains were southeast of Mount Forest in a "relatively new area of the search" for the girl. About 10 investigators searched the area where the remains were found.

Victoria's father, Rodney Stafford, said news of the discovery was "the worst of the possibilities" he has had to consider since his daughter's disappearance.

Despite the murder charges, Stafford told reporters in Woodstock he always held out hope that Victoria might be found alive.

"Even up until last night I was [looking] ... you can't help but think, is that her just up ahead, or was that her voice in the background? You can't help but hear that," he said.

Stafford said he hopes confirmation that the remains are Victoria's will bring closure for him and other family members.

Victoria's aunt, Rebecca Nichols, echoed those feelings.

"Even though it's not the ending we were hoping for, we're not going to be spending a lifetime wondering, we're not going to be looking in every car, in every backseat that we drive by, in every window of every house that we drive by. We're not going to be wondering, is Victoria in there? So yes, there is a sense of relief," she said.

Stafford said that if the remains are Victoria's the family will hold a private funeral.

Two Woodstock residents, Michael Rafferty and Terri-Lynne McClintic, are charged with kidnapping and first-degree murder. Their trials are expected to begin next year.