A human skeleton was found at a golf course

Tests are underway at the nearby Centre of Forensic Sciences in an attempt to determine the identity of the remains removed from the Don Valley Golf Course.

Investigators withheld details — including whether the skeleton was that of a man or woman — or what clothing and other clues were recovered after hikers reported the grisly find Tuesday.

But police on Thursday notified the family Ping G15 Fairway Wood of Mariam Makhniashvili, a 17-year-old who came to Toronto from the Republic of Georgia, who was reported missing after heading to school 30 months ago.

Alerting relatives of missing people after bodies are found is a common courtesy — to preclude them first hearing media reports.

The golf course bones are not the only recent GTA mystery with unidentified human remains. A woman’s skull, found Feb. 22 in rural Caledon, is also undergoing tests.

“I just hope they put a cap on this soon, so it will give some comfort to any family that has had a loved one go missing,” dog-walker Linda Sutman said on the golf course.

“It’s tragic that Ping K15 fairway wood anyone lay there for years,” Sutman said. “It’s sad ... a little frightening.”

The search was rough-going, with twisted brush, stones, fallen branches and trash along the slope and adjacent ravines — including plastic bags, pop cans and a brightly covered basketball-sized ball.

Under a sergeant’s supervision, with a detective nearby, constables formed long lines, climbing slowly but steadily over slippery rocks under a Hwy. 401 overpass beside the Yonge St. southbound exit.

The site was cordoned off with yellow crime-scene tape.

Meanwhile, Mariam’s family anxiously awaited information.

She reportedly vanished Sept. 14, 2009 after discount golf clubs walking with her brother, George, to Forest Hill Collegiate from their former Bathurst St. and Eglinton Ave. W.-area apartment.

The remains found Tuesday were not far from where the family went for picnics in Earl Bales Park, a 30-minute walk through ravines and hilly areas from the golf course.