TORONTO — Toronto police confirmed Friday that human remains found in a wooded area are those of Mariam Makhniashvili, who disappeared in 2009 at the age of 17.
"The cause of death was consistent with a fall from a significant height," Staff Insp. Greg McLane said.
He noted Mariam was believed to have been alive when she fell. No foul play is suspected, police said.
McLane would not confirm the death was suicide but said "the post-mortem results could be considered consistent with that."
Speculation had been mounting since police announced the grim discovery — near Highway 401 and Yonge Street — last week. It prompted police to call Lela Tabidze, Mariam's mother, but authorities could not make a formal identification until forensic tests came back.
Mariam disappeared in September 2009 after walking with her brother to school, not far from their parents' Forest Hill home. Police located her backpack in a parking lot the next month.
The teenager's disappearance prompted a 6,000-home canvass of the neighbourhood where she lived and a massive police search, but other than several false sightings over the years, there had been no concrete developments until Friday.
Mariam's father, Vakhtang Makhniashvili, is serving a six-year prison sentence for attacking several people with a knife, including a neighbour he mistakenly believed was involved in his daughter's disappearance.
Missing teen's mother contacted after remains discovered
Unidentified human remains discovered Tuesday in a wooded area near Highway 401 and Yonge Street prompted a phone call from Toronto Police to the mother of Mariam Makhniashvili, who was 18 when she disappeared in 2009.
"The police called to warn me that the remains were found and they didn't say anything else," said Lela Tabidze.
It's not known if the remains are those of Makhniashvili. Police were quick to point out that forensic testing needs to be done before any identification can be made and the call was made out of courtesy.
"It's unclear if there was foul play involved," said Const. Tony Vella. "The investigation is ongoing at this point. Once we've identified the body we'll notify the next of kin and issue a full statement at that point."
Police tape marks the area where investigators were focusing their attention Thursday beneath an overpass near the Don Valley Golf Course and a park.
A senior investigator is reported to have told CP24 that skeletal remains were found on Tuesday by two people walking in the area.
Mariam Makhniashvili's disappearance has long been a high-profile mystery in Toronto.
She was last seen on the morning of Sept. 14, 2009, around the area of Bathurst Street and Eglinton Avenue West, about seven kilometres from where remains were found Tuesday.
She disappeared after walking with her brother to school, a short distance from their parents' Forest Hill home. Her backpack was recovered in a parking lot in early October 2009, and several computers the girl may have used were seized by police from two local libraries.
Her case made national news and prompted a 6,000-home canvas of the neighbourhood where she lived.
Despite the massive hunt for the girl, there have been few public developments in her case. Hundreds of sightings have been reported, though never substantiated, including one that suggested she was in Alberta selling dream catchers.
In December, her father, Vakhtang Makhniashvili, was sentenced to six years in prison for a series of violent knife attacks. He pleaded guilty in May to three counts of aggravated assault in the stabbing of three people, including a neighbour he mistakenly believed was involved in his daughter's disappearance and a Toronto couple who bailed him out of jail.
"This is a very sad case that has had serious consequences for many," the 18-page sentencing decision read. "It is a case where a mentally ill man suffered a horrific event in his life and subsequently made decisions that led to equally horrific consequences. Mr. Makhniashvili is living every parent's nightmare. Unfortunately (he) chose to deal with the ordeal alone."
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