The family of missing child Victoria Stafford believe that human remains found over the weekend are indeed those of the eight-year-old girl, who disappeared more than three months ago from her school in Woodstock, Ont.
Tori disappeared three months ago.
Although a body was never found - two people have been charged with her murder.
Tori's family believe the little girl has been found.
Her father - Rodney Stafford - said at a news conference Monday that police alerted the family Sunday night that they had found human remains in Mount Forest, about two hours drive northwest of Toronto.
Police have also confirmed to the family that the remains are those of a young child. However, officers have not confirmed that the remains are in fact Victoria's.
Rodney Stafford said although it is not the ending his family was hoping for, their thoughts can now be put to rest.
"No one wants to believe their child has been murdered," he said.
"If it is her, at least I don't have to continue being out and about looking. Up until last night I was still doing it," he said. "You can't help but think, 'is that her just up ahead? Is that her voice in the background ?' You can't help it."
The remains were transported to a Toronto forensics centre Monday afternoon.
The body was found beside a large rock pile in a wooded, isolated rural area on Sunday afternoon by an investigator who is part of a team looking into the child's murder.
Interim Oxford Community Police Chief Rod said the remains have been exposed to the environment for "quite some time."
"We still have to determine, through examination, the sex of the remains, but we're missing Victoria and want to bring her home," he said.
Suspect's tip
Victoria, known as "Tori" by family and friends, was last seen alive on April 8 in Woodstock. A surveillance camera close to her school captured the girl walking with a woman.
On May 20, police arrested two people -- a male and a female.
Investigators began searching the area around Fergus for Victoria's body after receiving a tip from the female suspect, but police didn't find the remains at that point. The suspect had told officers of landmarks that may have been near the spot where Victoria's body was left.
"When you're dealing with a geography that's so vast and wide, it takes time to search it properly," Ontario Provincial Police Sgt. Dave Rektor said at the crime scene Monday.
The area where the remains were found is located about 15 minutes north of where police were initially searching. Rektor said he's not sure who owns the property.
A detective who is part of the Stafford homicide investigative team was following up on a tip when he noticed landmarks familiar to what the suspect described and decided to take a closer look at the site. He found the remains soon after driving up a dirt side road.
A black funeral hearse and a forensics truck were seen driving past the police blockade and onto the dirt road where the remains were found.
OPP Det. Sgt. Anthony Renton told reporters that investigators are "cautiously optimisitic" that they have found Victoria.
"If it is (Victoria) then that's a great thing because we can bring her home but there's a lot of work that opens up at that point," he said. "Hopefully it will give us more information to make this case even better."
He said police are still trying to find the backseat of a car they believe was used to transport Victoria to the scene.
In the meantime, Rodney Stafford said he and his estranged wife, Victoria's mother Tara McDonald, will be making funeral preparations in the event their child has been found. He said it will be a private affair for Victoria's family and will not be open to the public.
Stafford said he is also planning a bike ride across Canada to raise money for Child Find Ontario this August.
"I will say my goodbye to Victoria when I get to the top of the mountain after my bike ride," he said.
Michael Rafferty, 28, and Terri-Lynne McClintic, 18, have both been charged with first-degree murder and abduction. They remain in police custody.
