By Emma Partridge
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Police believe they have found the body of much-loved Leeton school teacher Stephanie Scott in a national park where her accused killer went on regular camping trips.
Officers discovered what is believed to be her remains in Cocoparra National Park about 5pm on Friday after a painstaking search involving police, divers and volunteers.
Police also confirmed reports the body was burnt, and said it was located five metres from the road.
It is understood police used a triangulation based off Stanford's phone to narrow down a search area for Ms Scott's body.
Into the darkness: Officers work through the early hours of the morning to retrieve what is believed to be Stephanie Scott's body.Credit: Kate Geraghty
Ms Scott was due to wed her fiance Aaron Leeson-Woolley among close friends and family in Eugowra on Saturday, and had been in the midst of preparations on Easter Sunday when she disappeared.
"The investigation is ongoing but in terms of our searching, we certainly believe that the remains are those of Stephanie," said Griffith Local Area Commander Superintendent Michael Rowan.
"I've been asked over the last couple of days about whether there had been burning of the body. I can certainly say that is confirmed. It's the case and it [the body] was [found] five metres from the roadway."
The body will be transported to Sydney on Saturday to undergo a forensic examination.
Stephanie Scott and her fiance Aaron Leeson-Woolley.Credit: Facebook
"In terms of a timeframe, all I can say is that we've got a priority in terms of our forensic people and so it will be as soon as we possibly can," Superintendent Rowan said.
An email Ms Scott sent from her Leeton High School computer on Sunday afternoon to the bus company hired for the wedding was her last known contact.
NSW police divers hold what appears to be a laptop submerged in an irrigation canal near Leeton, during their search for Stephanie Scott.Credit: Kate Geraghty
Instead the family of Ms Scott were informed of the discovery on Friday afternoon, and have decided to push on with plans to honour her memory during a picnic lunch to be held in Leeton on Saturday.
Police taped off an isolated gravel road leading into the park where they discovered the remains.
A van with floodlights and an SES truck were parked close to the side of the road where officers continued to examine evidence in the early hours of Saturday.
Officers could also be seen combing through nearby bushland with torches.
Police told Fairfax Media's The Irrigator that the body was recovered and taken out of the park shortly after 1am.
It is understood the mother and the brother of accused killer Vincent Stanford, 24, had been helping police with their investigation and providing them valuable information.
Fairfax Media understands the national park, just north of Griffith, was a regular place the Stanford family would travel to for camping trips.
It is 70 kilometres from the town where Ms Scott lived with her fiance Aaron Leeson-Woolley, who she was due to marry on Saturday, April 11.
Earlier on Friday members of the Leeton Volunteer Rescue Association discovered a gasoline can they believe may be linked to Ms Scott's death.
It was found not far from an irrigation channel where police divers discovered a red lap-top believed to belong to the 26-year-old school teacher.
The discovery of the gasoline can and computer near Griffith Road was only a few kilometres from where Ms Scott's red Mazda was dumped on a rural property.
Police arrested Mr Stanford, a school cleaner where Ms Scott worked, after they allegedly found her blood in his car and photographic evidence of her burnt remains.
- With Tom Decent, AAP