PITTSFIELD, Mass. (NEWS10) — The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Boston has positively identified the remains found in September as those of Meghan Marohn, the missing Shaker High School teacher. Marohn went missing on a hiking trip in Lee on March 27, and her remains were not found until September 1 in a heavily wooded area near Fox Drive.

Toxicology testing revealed the presence of THC and organic products of decomposition. Autopsy results did not show any signs of pre-death trauma, and the medical examiner could not determine the cause and manner of death due to the condition of the remains.

Dr. Igor Lednev is a chemistry and biological sciences professor at the University at Albany. He says that dental records are essential when trying to identify any person in an investigation where the remains have decomposed over time.

“If teeth and skeletal remains can be found, then the identification by dental evidence is possible because an anthropologist can compare dental remains with dental records,” he said.

Ruth Ross is one of Marohn’s close friends and mentor. She remembers her as being an amazing teacher, idealistic, and her energy.

“Her enthusiasm was infectious. She’s brilliant; she was brilliant,” she said. “She was very, very, socially aware. She was passionate about the things that she was doing.”

She says that the family is doing their best during this time, but she hopes that her students can remember her for the work she did.

“I want her students to feel passionate about their interests,” she said. “She didn’t only enjoy reading poetry, but she wrote poetry. And she would write poetry on demand.”

Her passion for poetry inspired her to create The Troy Poem Project. People could tell her about a person, a place, a feeling, or an idea, and then she would write a poem within twenty minutes.

“That was Meghan, that was all Meghan, and it shows how much she loved poetry,” she said.

So far, there has been no evidence that indicates foul play. Police continue to receive and follow up on leads and are awaiting the result of further State Police Crime Lab forensic testing.