Lela Tabidze, mother of Mariam Makhniashvili, who mysteriously disappeared in September 2009, said she received a call from Toronto police on Thursday regarding human remains discovered earlier this week.

Police confirmed two youth stumbled upon the remains under a bridge near Highway 401 and Yonge St. on Tuesday. They would not speculate about the gender or age of the deceased.

“It could be something, it could be nothing,” said Tabidze, whose 17-year-old daughter’s disappearance has gripped headlines for the last three years.

Tabidze stressed that police divulged little information, but she’s waiting for news.

“(The call) was just to warn me,” she said.

Police said the remains are being examined by a forensics team and they expect answers regarding the identity soon.

Related story: Mariam, the case that won’t crack

Last year, Mariam’s father, Vakhtang Makhniashvili, was sentenced to six years in prison after pleading guilty to three counts of aggravated assault after stabbing three people in 2010.

A court-ordered psychiatric assessment found his actions were likely caused by a delusional disorder developed after the disappearance.

Const. Wendy Drummond of the Toronto Police said that Makhniashvili’s family were contacted out of courtesy. She said they had been contacted previously when remains were found in the past.

Drummond added that although they have contacted the Makhniashvili’s before, finding remains isn’t something that happens often, so they take it very seriously.

“It’s not an overtly common thing. So we like to be the ones that tell them, first. So if the remains are identified as their loved one, they don’t learn about them being found in the first place by the media,” Drummond said.

She added that the remains are currently being examined at the Centre of Forensic Sciences and she said she is uncertain of when they can expect answers about the identification of the deceased.