Provincial police announced Wednesday the human remains found in the water in Dunnville, Ont., the day before are that of a young girl.

Police said people fishing in the Grand River discovered her remains and emergency responders arrived around 1:22 p.m. Tuesday.

The girl, who OPP estimate was between one and four years old when she died, was said to have been in the water for a period of time.

Its tragic, and its disturbing, said Detective Inspector Shawn Glassford with the OPP. Somebody out there is missing this child. Somebody is wondering what happened to this child and we want to hear from those people.

A post-mortem is scheduled for Thursday to determine her cause of death.

Police said their crime unit is investigating and they will provide an update when new information is available.

An OPP boat searches the Grand River in Dunnville, Ont. after the remains of a young girl were found. (May 18, 2022)

I just cant imagine that someone would do that to a baby... a baby, said Chris Aldridge, who lives in Dunnville.

Its very, very sad, said another resident, Kathy Gilbert. I cant believe it. Something like this would happen in this town. Its just a sad day.

Police said they are looking into missing person reports from across Canada and the United States as part of their efforts to identify the girl.

Authorities have also set up a special tip line for anyone who may have information that can help in their investigation.

Residents are asked to call 1-844-677-9403, or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.

Were hopeful that members of the public will assist us, said Glassford. I think this is one of those cases that were really going to depend on the public to help us identify this child and determine what happened and how this child ended up in the river and the circumstances surrounding that.

A helicopter flies over the Grand River in Dunnville, Ont. (May 18, 2022)

The community of Dunnville is located near the mouth of the Grand River in Haldimand County. There are a number of boat launches along the waterfront and wind turbines lining the shore.