The search continues for a teenage girl who has now been missing for one week.
Mariam Makhniashvili, 17, disappeared on September 14. She walked her brother to the school they both attended and told him she would go in another door.
She hasn’t been seen since.
On Monday, police addressed the students at Forest Hill Collegiate during two assemblies. Officers asked especially for any screen names or other identities that Mariam may have used online.
They also stressed that Crime Stoppers is totally anonymous, and students are encouraged to text in any information.
Mariam's father, Vakhtang Makhniashvili, also took the stage. He thanked the school and police for their efforts.
"We need just eyes," he said, adding that finding out where Mariam was before 9am on September 14 is crucial to the investigation.
"It is important for us to have visual, small details about her."
He later admitted that he thought she must have been abducted.
"She's somewhere and somebody probably took her. This is just a logical conclusion," he said.
"The best thing I can hope for that she is alive and she is in Toronto."
Investigators are hoping that someone will have spotted the teen, who has only been in Toronto for three months.
She moved to the country from the Republic of Georgia. She speaks little English and has no support system outside of her immediate family.
On Friday, four days after her she was last seen, police stepped up the search to the third and highest level, calling in extensive resources and asking for help from the community.
"This is like a jigsaw puzzle, you can't complete the puzzle without all the pieces, so no matter how insignificant you may think what you know is, we need that information and we need it soon," said Staff Inspector Larry Sinclair.
Makhniashvili is described as white, 5’3”, 140 pounds with light-brown,
shoulder-length hair and brown eyes. She was last seen wearing black
pants, a light-blue, long-sleeved v-neck shirt, dark blue, waist-length jean jacket and a large black
knapsack with a diagonal green stripe on the back pocket. There was also a small rip above the pocket..
She was
also wearing a watch with a silver band.
Investigators have stressed that there is no indication of foul play.
Toronto Crime Stoppers has posted online appeals to the public. To view them, click on the links below:
YouTube
Facebook
Twitter
If you can help, call police at 416-808-5300, Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-TIPS (8477), online at www.222tips.com, or text TOR and your message to CRIMES (274637).