A picture of Mariam Makhniashvili released Nov. 9, 2009. The teen went missing in September.police handout
RCMP in Okotoks, Alta., issued a news release Wednesday saying they had a solid sighting of missing Toronto teen Mariam Makhniashvili, but Toronto police are cautioning that the information is just one of many tips they have received in the case.
In the release, RCMP said they "believe that Mariam was in the Okotoks area on or about Oct. 27, 2009, and that she may still be in the Greater Calgary Area."
Okotoks is about 18 kilometres south of Calgary.
She was reportedly trying to sell dream catchers and other crafts to local businesses, the RCMP said.
It appeared the RCMP's move caught Toronto police off guard. They were set to hold a news conference on the matter Wednesday but cancelled it at the last minute.
Constable Wendy Drummond told CP24 that Toronto police "don't have anything substantial to confirm that she, in fact, was seen.
"It's information that we've received and the RCMP is acting on it as well, and asking the Okotoks community to assist them with any information that anybody may have."
She said the Okotoks RCMP detachment issued the press release independently, based on a tip submitted to Crime Stoppers. There is nothing to corroborate the tip, she added.
Vakhtang Makhniashvili, Ms. Makhniashvili's father, was skeptical of the tip, saying he believes his daughter would have tried to contact her family if she was able to move about freely.
Her mother, Lela Tabidze, also had her doubts. "It's hard to believe that it is real. I have no facts. Nobody told me, nobody gave me information," she said.
Her daughter, who turned 18 in October, was last seen on Sept. 14 when she walked to school with her brother.
Since her disappearance, only her backpack has been found. Police also confiscated a number of computers from her home and libraries in her neighbourhood, and conducted ground searches in nearby parks and at the Ingram Transfer Station.
They also extensively canvassed the Eglinton and Bathurst area, interviewing residents door-to-door and Ms. Makhniashvili's schoolmates. Ms. Makhniashvili came to Canada with her family three months before her disappearance from the Republic of Georgia.
Ms. Tabidze said her daughter was normal, that they never had any trouble with her and that she had high hopes for the future. Her voice quivering, she said, "I just want to remind her that we are waiting for her and that we love her and that we miss her."