A police search in a north-end park has failed to turn up any new information in the case of a teen who has been missing for 11 days.
Mariam Makhniashvili, by her family’s account a happy 17-year-old with no reason to run away, was last seen on Monday, Sept. 14th before class at Forest Hill Collegiate, the school she attended with her younger brother, George.
On Friday, police used an OPP helicopter equipped with infrared technology to comb Earl Bales Park near Bathurst St. and Sheppard Ave. W.
The teen had spent much of the summer there picnicking with her family and exploring the trails.
They say they chose the spot because Makhniashvili was familiar with it and not because they are following any leads.
"I don't want the media or the public to speculate as to the reasons why we are here. We were not pointed here by any investigation, just the fact that the family was very familiar with this park - specifically Mariam, who would come here with her family two or three times a week throughout the summer," revealed Det. Sgt. Dan Nealon of Toronto Police.
Four days after she disappeared, police raised the search to the third and highest level.
They continue to search on the ground, retracing their steps and talking to people they might have missed the first time around. They are working within a 500 metre radius around the spot she was last seen.
Makhniashvili has been in the city for only three months, leaving the republic of Georgia in June to join her parents, who had been working in the U.S. for five years.
She doesn’t speak much English and has no support system outside of her immediate family.
She 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 shirt, dark blue jean jacket and a large black knapsack with a green stripe.
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).