Human remains discovered April 7 in a densely wooded area in Augusta have been identified as those of Megan Gregory, who disappeared in June 2017.

In a joint news release issued Thursday morning by Augusta and Gardiner police, officials say that the Office of Chief Medical Examiner was able to identify Gregory using dental records, but a cause of death has not been determined.

Megan Gregory, right, and her mother, Shauna Drashcovich. Contributed photo

Evidence collected at the scene and an examination of the remains indicates that Gregory’s death was not suspicious, police say.

At the time of the discovery, Kevin Lully, deputy chief of the Augusta Police Department, said identification could take some time.

“There’s not enough evidence for us to be able to tell who it might be,” Lully said. “They really have to roll up their sleeves on this one.”

Police now say that evidence at the scene beyond the pits at the end of Washington Street indicates that her remains had been at that location since Gregory was reported missing in June 2017.

Gardiner police Chief James Toman said clothing found at the scene is consistent with what Gregory was reported to be wearing when she was last seen. Other evidence indicates that drugs might have been involved.

Even before the police made their announcement, reports about the identification surfaced on social media.

Micheal and Shauna Drashcovich talk about their missing daughter, Megan Gregory, during an interview on Aug. 30, 2017, in Gardiner. Kennebec Journal file photo by Joe Phelan

On Wednesday night, Michael Drashcovich, Gregory’s stepfather, posted this message: “With a sorrowful heart and a loss that I can’t fathom we found out what happened to our free-spirited, loving, wonderful and beautiful daughter. Her remains were found on April 7th, after being missing for 22 months. Take your loved ones in your arms and hold them close, you never know when you will see them again. Megan, we love and miss you!”

Thursday morning, Gregory’s father, Derek Gregory, posted this: “The long search for my daughter has ended. She has found peace and now we can celebrate her life the way she would want us too. She was a beautiful soul that left us and now she is no longer in pain. I will Always love you Megan and I miss you so much it hurts.”

The last verified sighting of Gregory occurred June 5 in Augusta. She was wearing black yoga pants, a blue sweatshirt and flip-flops.

Police were unable to verify a report of a sighting a day later, when she apparently was seen getting into an SUV outside the Edwards House Inn on Water Street in Augusta. No one knew which way the vehicle went.

At that time, Gregory had been estranged from her mother and stepfather, Shauna and Michael Drashcovich. They discovered Gregory had disappeared only when her distraught boyfriend came to tell them a day after he had last seen her. That’s when they called the police.

Shauna Drashcovich wipes a tear as she talks about her missing daughter, Megan Gregory, during an interview on Aug. 30, 2017, in Gardiner. Kennebec Journal file photo by Joe Phelan

In a 2017 interview with the Kennebec Journal, Shauna Drashcovich said her daughter had been happy, outgoing and social when she was growing up in Florida. She loved her brothers, and her love of animals influenced her college studies — first in marine biology, then zoology.

By the time Gregory moved to Maine, where her parents had been sent by the Navy and then remained after Michael Drashcovich retired in 2011, her parents knew she had been taking cocaine. They didn’t learn that Gregory had been using heroin until 2016, when one of her friends told them about overdoses that had occurred a year earlier.

In that interview, Shauna Drashcovich said her daughter had made attempts to get her life back on track, but they were unsuccessful.

At the time of her disappearance, the Drashcoviches had seen Gregory only twice that year — once in the Hannaford supermarket in Gardiner and once at the IHOP restaurant in Augusta, where by chance, Gregory was their waitress.

Gregory turned 28 less than two weeks after she was last seen.