Sad conclusion to search for missing Forest Hill teen

The recent news that human remains found by passersby in a wooded area near Yonge Street and Highway 401 were those of missing local teen Miriam Makhniashvili cast a somber mood at Forest Hill Collegiate Institute.

Principal Peggy Aitchison said that grief counselors were made available to the school’s students. Miriam’s classmates have since graduated, but some students may have known her younger brother.

“I think that in a situation like this, even as time goes by, you remain with that bit of hope that the situation will work out okay,” she said. “And when we learned that the remains were Miriam’s, that was the end of that hope.”

Staff Insp. Greg McLane, of the homicide squad, said the autopsy showed a cause of death consistent with a fall from a significant height, such as from the overpass below which the body was discovered. Police do not suspect foul play.

Even before the revelation that Miriam’s death could have been consistent with a suicide, Aitchison said that the school board has been paying more attention to mental health issues.

After the Forest Hill teen vanished from outside the local high school in September 2009, investigators had few concrete leads beyond a knapsack that surfaced in the Yonge Street and Eglinton Avenue area.

Toronto Police Service’s 53 Division led the initial investigation, which included interviews with every student at Forest Hill Collegiate Institute, a canvass of 5,000 area households and ground and air searches. The location where Miriam was found was outside of the search grid.

In the aftermath of the discovery, Miriam’s mother asked that media respect her right to privacy.

“She’s responded as one would reasonably expect,” McLane said.

A funeral was scheduled for late last month.

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