Timothy Appleby
Toronto — From Monday's Globe and Mail Published on Sunday, Nov. 08, 2009 11:51PM EST Last updated on Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2009 2:30AM EST
Two months after missing teen Mariam Makhniashvili vanished without trace near her home, Toronto police will flood the area Monday in a mass door-to-door canvass.
In all, 60 uniformed officers will be knocking on doors asking residents if they have any information about Ms. Makhniashvili, who has turned 18 since disappearing Sept. 14.
Police spokesman Mark Pugash said there is no precedent for so many officers to be redeployed in a such a lengthy missing-person mystery.
At an 11 a.m. news conference this morning, lead investigator Detective Sergeant Dan Nealon will release further details, along with a fresh photograph of Ms. Makhniashvili.
On Friday, an OPP helicopter equipped with a high-resolution camera hovered over three city parks – Earl Bales Park, Sunnybrook Park and Sherwood Park – in a renewed hunt for clues.
The last reported sighting of the teen came from her younger brother, George, who said they walked together to their high school, Forest Hill Collegiate, a few blocks from the family's apartment, close to Bathurst Street and Eglinton Avenue.
Since then, the only solid clue has been the discovery three weeks later of her school backpack, containing books and her lunch. It was found behind an apartment building in the Yonge and Eglinton area, about two kilometres away.
Ms. Makhniashvili and her brother moved to Toronto in June from the republic of Georgia, reuniting with their parents after a long separation. For the previous five years, the parents had been living in Southern California.
She had been at her new school for just four days when she vanished, and her disappearance has baffled police, who have repeatedly said they have no evidence of foul play.
Her parents, meanwhile, have rejected suggestions she ran away, saying she left home with no extra money, clothes or a passport.
Nor does she appear to have contacted friends or relatives in Georgia.
Late last month, police seized and examined computers from two libraries Ms. Makhniashvili had been frequenting, but no useful leads emerged.
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