Ontario Provincial Police were searching the scene of found human remains in Springwater Township by air and ground Thursday in a bid to find any evidence.
A drone whirred over the Simcoe County Forest above the scene where a person walking a dog discovered the remains around noon on Wednesday off Gill Road south of Horseshoe Valley Road.
"The drone is helping to give us a topographical, aerial view of the area to better allow for ground searches and to pick up something you might not normally see walking on the ground," said OPP Const. Mark Kinney. "That gives us that bird eye that allows us to see items and from that ground searchers can move in and do a more detailed search."
More than a dozen officers from the OPP's canine unit, Emergency Response Unit and uniformed officers fanned out on foot through the woods.
The OPP's massive Mobile Command Unit vehicle was also on scene.
"They're looking for any type of evidence that could bring clarity as to the reason why we have human remains that were found, why those remains are there," Kinney said.
Police closed Gill Road Thursday morning in the immediate area and a longer section of the road was restricted to local traffic.
An autopsy is scheduled for Friday at the Office of the Chief Coroner and Forensic Pathology Services in Toronto.
There is no word on the possible identity, age and gender or how long the remains had been there.
Kinney says investigators are checking missing person files as a usual matter of course in an investigation of this nature.
He could not rule out the possibility that searchers might revisit the area at a later date.
"Right now they're tromping through snow and slush but maybe in a couple weeks it'll harden up and they'll be able to see something that wasn't there because it was covered in snow," he said.
Area residents driving near the scene initially wondered what had attracted all the police activity.
Word of the discovery of human remains was met with shock and concern.
"Is it a missing person? Is it gang related? We don't know," said a man who did not want to give his name.
