Toronto police investigators are continuing to search the area where decomposed human remains were discovered on the edge of a golf course, as a provincial lab in the city works on an identification.

"It is a very active scene right now," CBC's Neil Herland reported on Friday. "There's a very long strip of yellow police tape stretched in front of a wooded area. Behind the police line is a forensics identification truck. There are also several squad cars on site."

Two people walking in a ravine near the underpass at Yonge Street and Highway 401 spotted the body and clothing on Tuesday, but police did not release the news until Thursday.

As a courtesy, police contacted the mother of missing teen Mariam Makhniashvili on Thursday morning to notify her of the discovery. Lela Tabidze confirmed she received the call, but stressed that police divulged little information and made no explicit mention of Mariam.

The girl was 17 when she vanished in September 2009 while heading to school, only a few months after moving to Canada from the Republic of Georgia.

Investigators say it's standard practice for police to talk to some families of missing persons when remains are found.

Police are not speculating whether this is male or female human remains.

"For now the forensics unit continues work here at the Don Valley Golf Course," Herland reported. "The course is closed for winter. Quite a few dog owners and curiosity seekers are passing by to catch a glimpse of the police operation."

No timeline has been released on when the forensic tests on the remains will be completed.

Calvin Barry, a lawyer for Mariam's family, said they're in "kind of a holding pattern," awaiting further news.

Const. Wendy Drummond said the identification process partly relies on what officers find at the scene.

She said the area north of the first tee at the golf course will stay cordoned off until a forensic team has completed its investigation.