For two weeks a vital clue in the case of a missing girl sat behind a north Toronto apartment building as unsuspecting residents passed by.

On Thursday, one of those residents looked inside the discarded black knapsack and discovered it belonged to Mariam Makhniashvili, the 17-year-old who disappeared more than three weeks ago.

Now, police have renewed their search, going door to door in the Yonge and Eglinton neighbourhood and trying to create a timeline of events.

They’re hoping surveillance videos and eyewitness accounts that have begun to emerge will help them.

Sandy Slater believes she saw Mariam just days after she first disappeared. She called Crime Stoppers, but no one followed up until Friday, after the discovery of the backpack.

“I was walking the dog. It was 12:30 at night the first Saturday she was missing, and I passed her and a young guy walking this way,” she described.

“[There was] nothing that would indicate that she was being forced or being dragged.”

Mariam’s father, Vakhtang, says he’s comforted by the recent developments.

“My first thought is that she has been kidnapped and it’s difficult to imagine anything else. But I am hearing some rumours that somebody saw her, and we are more than happy to believe this.”
 
If you can help, call police at 416-808-5300 or Crime Stoppers at 416-222-TIPS (8477) to remain anonymous. You can also leave your tip online at www.222tips.com or text TOR and your message to CRIMES (274637).