The parents of missing teen Mariam Makhniashvili expressed hope their daughter would be found safe Monday, on the eve of the teen’s 18th birthday.
While her father continued to search both online and on his bike for the missing girl, her mother planned a birthday celebration, though with her daughter still missing it will hardly qualify as a party.
“Because of the situation, days and nights are so mixed up for us,” Mariam’s mother, Lela Tabidza, admitted Monday.
“But tomorrow is Mariam’s birthday ... we’re going to have cake and candles.”
Mariam was last seen at Forest Hills Collegiate on Sept. 14. The only sign of her since has been some TTC surveillance video pulled from Union Station and the discovery three weeks ago of her knapsack near Yonge and Eglinton. Police are frustrated by a lack of leads in the case, but the search and investigation is continuing.
“It’s a challenge for us and it’s something that we have our officers trained to do,” said Toronto Police Const. Wendy Drummond. “You never give up and we’re going to continue.”
Mariam and her brother had only come to Canada from Georgia and been reunited with their parents this past summer after a five-year separation.
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