Mariam Makhniashvili

Have You Seen Mariam Makhniashvili ?

Case Type: Missing From Home
Missing Date: Monday 14th September 2009
Missing From: Toronto Ontario
Missing Country: Canada
Sex: Female
DOB: 27/Oct/1991
Age Now: 18

Specific Details:

Hair: Light Brown	Eye Color: Brown
Height: 5' 1" (156cm)	Weight: 141lbs (64kg)
Race: White	language: n/a
Special Facts: Normally has shoulder length hair. She is also known by the name 'Marika'

Known Circumstances:

Mariam was last seen on Monday (14/09/09) at 8:30 a.m. in Bathurst Street and Eglinton Avenue area. She was last seen wearing black pants, a light blue shirt, dark blue jean jacket carrying a large black backpack with a green stripe.

ANYONE WITH INFORMATION on Miriam's whereabouts is asked to contact Police 53 Division at 416-808-5300, or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-TIPS (8477), or online at www.222tips.com , or text TOR and your message to CRIMES (274637).

If you have any information on Mariam Makhniashvili please contact the official numbers above immediately. Alternatively, you can e-mail us here at Help Find My Child - you can do this in strictest confidence - we will make sure your information is passed on to the relevant places.

Messages of support and news updates are welcomed,

Mariam Makniashvili disappeared nearly a year ago

Submitted by Larry on 2 September, 2010 - 19:20.

Nearly a year after their daughter's disappearance, the family of Mariam Makniashvili refuse to give up hope she will be found.

Vakhtang Makhniashvili spends his days surfing the internet hoping for some sign of his daughter. "The most difficult part of it is we don't know anything at all still and the police don't have any more evidence," Vakhtang Makhniashvili told CBC News. "I have strong faith that Mariam will be found, otherwise it would be so really difficult to go on," added Mariam's mother, Lela Tabdize.

The last 12 months have been a blur, her parents said. "It was like walking between death and life, and we need to keep our strength because we're waiting for good news but we know that our chances could be slim," the mother said.

It didn't make it easier on the family when Vakhtang Makniashvili was arrested for assaulting a neighbour in May. He's under house arrest. "These issues are much smaller in comparison with this tragic event," Vakhtang said.

The Makhniashvilis say they have lost the joy in their lives but are trying to keep things as normal as they can for the sake of their son, George. But it's harder as they mark the passing of time. They said they will continue to cling to the hope she is alive because the alternative is unbearable.

Source: CBC News
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/toronto/story/2010/09/01/mariam-makhniashvili.h...

Mariam Makhniashvili - March For Missing Teen

Submitted by Ellen on 3 April, 2010 - 21:05.

More than six months after she disappeared, the family and friends of missing teen Mariam Makhniashvili gathered at Yonge Dundas Square Saturday to remind the public of her story.

“We won’t stop searching for her. We’re trying to make the public more aware about this case, because we need to remember this case is open and the search is on,” said Mariam’s father Vakhtang.

A small crowd gathered, carrying pictures of the missing 18-year old and handing out flyers.

“We believe strongly that Mariam is out there, trying to escape or waiting for a chance to return….We hope this march, the second march for Mariam will generate more leads and that more people will pay attention and remember that Mariam is still missing,” said her mother Lela Tabidze.

Continues/...

http://tinyurl.com/ykt2g4v

Thinking of Mariam Makhniashvili and her family

Submitted by Ruperta on 14 March, 2010 - 22:11.

Six months later, still no clues on missing Mariam

Submitted by Ruperta on 14 March, 2010 - 21:54.

Six months later, still no clues on missing Mariam

It's been six months since Toronto teen Mariam Makhniashvili was last seen and detectives say they still don't have any leads on her disappearance.

The 17-year-old girl was last seen by her brother on the morning of September 14. The two walked to Forest Hill Collegiate together but went into the midtown Toronto school using two separate entrances.

The girl never made it to class.

Weeks after, police found Mariam's backpack in a busy alleyway near Mt. Pleasant Road and Eglinton Avenue. That was the last solid clue police uncovered in the case.

http://toronto.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20100314/missing_Makhniashvili_100314/20100314?hub=Toronto

Mariam case still very much alive

Submitted by Jasmine on 21 January, 2010 - 13:46.

A theory suggesting that missing teen Mariam Makhniashvili may be travelling across Canada with a caravan of teenagers has been debunked, but the investigation into her disappearance is still very much alive, the lead detective said Wednesday.

In a case that has been marred by mystery, several so-called sightings of the Forest Hill teen in Alberta appeared to provide the first solid theory of where Makhniashvili has been since she vanished Sept. 14.

In one tip, someone said they saw Makhniashvili selling dreamcatchers in a mall south of Calgary in October. The uncorroborated tip was dismissed by police shortly after it created a media frenzy last month.

Some tipsters suggested Makhniashvili may be travelling with a caravan of teenagers with foreign accents who said they were trying to raise money to go across Canada or make their way back to Europe.

“The sightings out West have sort of dwindled,” Toronto Police Det.-Sgt. Dan Nealon said Wednesday. “We suspect that it could have been a look-alike person out there.”

Continues/...

http://www.torontosun.com/news/torontoandgta/2010/01/20/12549681.html

Tips link Mariam to roaming 'beggars'

Submitted by Ellen on 19 December, 2009 - 23:55.

Calgary–Missing Toronto teen Mariam Makhniashvili may be travelling in a caravan with other young Europeans, described by RCMP as professional beggars, raising money to travel across Canada, the lead detective in her case said Friday.

Det. Sgt. Dan Nealon of the Toronto Police Service said tips have been coming in from Alberta and Toronto, leading investigators to believe Makhniashvili may be part of a band of travelling teenagers.

"There is a group of young people speaking with foreign accents travelling across Canada, or at least have made their way to western Canada," said Nealon Friday. "They're telling people they're trying to raise money to travel across Canada or collect enough money to go back to Europe."

This theory is the first hypothesis investigators have of what may have happened to Makhniashvili, who reportedly had few friends or acquaintances since immigrating to the country.

The group may have picked up Makhniashvili in Toronto, according to Nealon.

Continues/...

http://tinyurl.com/yl9mp9r

Sighting in Alberta not Mariam: RCMP

Submitted by Ellen on 19 December, 2009 - 23:51.

Alberta RCMP say they have debunked a possible sighting of Mariam Makhniashvili, the Toronto teen who went missing more than three months ago and who was reported to have been travelling across the province with a group of young people.

The 18-year-old was believed to have been seen in Okotoks, Alta., a small town about 50 kilometres south of Calgary, on Oct. 27, going door to door selling "dream catchers."

Sergeant Patrick Webb said RCMP, following a request to follow up on a tip from Toronto police, were able to locate a group of young people that fit the description of the group and determined that Mariam was not among them.

"One of our detachments found a girl who looked like Mariam, checked her ID and was satisfied that it was not her and sent them on their way," Sgt. Webb said last night, adding that RCMP had received 15 reports about the travelling group in more than a dozen locations from Saskatoon to Grand Prairie, Alta.

Continues/...

http://tinyurl.com/yhew5jq

Toronto police stumped by Mariam case: Blair

Submitted by Ellen on 16 December, 2009 - 23:36.

Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair says his investigators are stumped by the disappearance of teenager Mariam Makhniashvili, who vanished about three months ago.

Blair told CTV Toronto on Tuesday that his officers have run out of leads in their search for the 18-year-old.

"I think the effort that has been made reflects the concern that we have for her safety," he said. "But I also believe now that we have exhausted every investigative opportunity available to us and we're now hopeful that someone who knows something will come forward with that information."

There's no evidence of a "predicating event" such as a dispute, a threat to the girl or anything to even indicate her intentions the morning she disappeared, Blair said.

Continues/...

http://tinyurl.com/yho2dyo

No new tips after Mariam shown on America's Most Wanted

Submitted by Ellen on 14 December, 2009 - 20:47.

The case of a Toronto teenager who vanished on her way to school last September has grabbed headlines across the country as police tried every technique they could think of to find a lead on her whereabouts.

Save for a recovered backpack and three unconfirmed sightings some 3,500 kilometres away, investigators have been unable to make any headway in the search for Mariam Makhniashvili.

So last night, the case went to an international audience, with Makhniashvili profiled on America's Most Wanted.

The popular show, which airs on the Fox network, profiles the cases of missing children and fugitives from justice, with the aim of helping police generate tips from viewers.

Police at Toronto's 53 division, which is handling the case, said this morning they had not received any new tips. Representatives of America's Most Wanted could not be immediately reached for comment.

Continues/...

http://tinyurl.com/ycx7flq

Look-alike may be leading to tips for missing Toronto girl

Submitted by Ellen on 10 December, 2009 - 22:04.

There has been a lot of hope in recent weeks that a teenaged Toronto girl, missing for nearly three months, might be in Alberta.

But, that hope may be dashed.

RCMP in the province say they have followed up most of the tips, suggesting Mariam Makhniashvili, 17, was in the province.

Sgt. Patrick Webb can now say the object of all the buzz is a look-alike, "We have determined there are a group of individuals that are basically doing door-to-door sales of dream catchers," says Webb. "Those individuals were actually located in Wainwright, and it was confirmed there was a girl with them that is very similar in appearance, but it is not her. Her identity has been checked, and confirmed."

Webb says RCMP are still following up on all tips. The latest reported sighting came from Hinton, November 30th. Police are still looking into that one.

http://tinyurl.com/ygz6dwc

Third Mariam sighting reported in Alberta

Submitted by Ellen on 10 December, 2009 - 22:01.

EDMONTON — Alberta RCMP say a missing Toronto teen may have been in the Hinton area, 280 kilometres west of Edmonton, last week.

Spokesman Cpl. Wayne Oakes said Wednesday Mariam Makhniashvili was seen on Hinton streets on Nov. 30, but he emphasized the tip was unsubstantiated.

Officers were dispatched to follow up on the tip, he said, but they could not find concrete evidence to support it.

Continues/...

http://tinyurl.com/yjzkyv8

2nd Mariam 'sighting' in Alberta

Submitted by Ellen on 5 December, 2009 - 22:01.

RCMP in Alberta have received an unconfirmed report that missing Toronto teen Mariam Makhniashvili was seen in Grande Prairie.

The 18-year-old has been missing since Sept. 14.

The latest tip is that she may have been seen in Grande Prairie on Dec. 2 at 9:40 a.m. at a hotel, RCMP said in a release Friday. However, when police arrived to check a female's identity, she had already left.

This is the second purported sighting of Makhniashvili in Western Canada.

Continues/...

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/toronto/story/2009/12/04/mariam-sighting004.html

Mariam's dad 'cautious' about reported sighting

Submitted by Jasmine on 4 December, 2009 - 10:56.

The father of Mariam Makhniashvili says his family is being "cautious" after receiving word that his 18-year-old daughter may have been spotted in Calgary after not being seen for nearly three months.

Vakhtang Makhniashvili told CTV's Canada AM on Thursday that his family has no idea what happened to Mariam and urged the public to keep their eyes open and the police informed.

When asked about the possibility his daughter could have run away to Calgary, Makhniashvili said he couldn't believe she "could do this type of thing."

Continues/...

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20091203/mariam_sear...

Police dismiss Mariam sighting

Submitted by Jasmine on 3 December, 2009 - 12:27.

An uncorroborated tip about a Mariam Makhniashvili sighting south of Calgary created a media frenzy yesterday, more than a month after the information came in.

Reports began leaking into the media yesterday afternoon about a tip that the missing girl was seen selling dream catchers and other aboriginal crafts at a mall in Okotoks, Alta., on Oct. 27, more than 3,500 km from Toronto, where she was reported missing Sept. 14.

The story hit newspaper websites and the top of radio and TV newscasts before Toronto Police sent out a press release saying "there is no evidence to corroborate the information" received in the tip.

Continues/...

http://www.torontosun.com/news/torontoandgta/2009/12/03/12016806-sun.html

Missing Toronto teen may be in southern Alberta

Submitted by Ruperta on 2 December, 2009 - 21:39.

CALGARY — A Toronto teenage girl missing since mid-September may have been spotted more than 3,500 kilometres away in a small town south of Calgary.

Mariam Makhniashvili, 18, was last seen by her brother on Sept. 14 at her school, in the Bathurst Street and Eglinton Ave. West area in Greater Toronto.

RCMP in Okotoks, Alta., which is about 45 kilometres south of Calgary, said Wednesday a girl matching her description was spotted selling dream catchers and other crafts to local businesses on or about Oct. 27, 2009.

http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Missing+Toronto+teen+possibly+seen+near+Calgary/2294887/story.html

Canvass for Mariam turns up no new leads

Submitted by Jasmine on 26 November, 2009 - 20:57.

Toronto Police have largely completed their canvass of the neighbourhood around the home of missing teen Mariam Makhniashvili -- and say they have generated no new leads so far.

"There hasn't been anything out of that that has brought us to something new," Det. Sgt. Dan Nealon told CTV Toronto on Thursday.

"However, we will be going back and continuing. There's some stragglers with regards to being home and other issues as well, with sickness, that we'll have to go back and interview."

Nealon said the 60 officers conducted more than 7,000 interviews over the period of the canvass, which began on Nov. 9. They will now have to shift through those notes.

Continues/...

http://toronto.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20091126/mariam_search_09...

Why police didn't check

Submitted by Site Visitor (not verified) on 28 November, 2009 - 23:59.

Why police didn't check computers from local internet cafes?
Public libraries restrict access to chatrooms, social networks etc... Teenage girl, Georgien origin, newcomer...
Ask any child psychologist and ethnograph - they'll say you that's very possible that victim had an ARRANGED meeting with abductor. Vanishing circumstacies prove that - no loud, no abuse, no passerbys attention. How newcomer could arrange that meeting? Internet. Where from? Home - no (origin plus father knew her e-mail passwords etc.), libraries - no(restrictions), friends - no(newcomer). Only local internet cafes. Unfortunately, may be it's too late... Lets assume next scenarios.
1. Teenage girl is looking for friends in the country. She mets somebody through Inet. After coming to Canada she tells this person her address and school she will attend. Abductor checks this school, security cameras locations and capturing zones (so it's very important check camera footages BEFORE vanishing date) and arranges a date.
2. Some Mariams friend from Georgia has a link with former Georgian resident, who lives now in Canada and tells her (Mariam) his phone number/e-mail address. Mariam contacts this person by phone or e-mail (from Inet-cafe). Abductors actions - see above.

Another Nicole Morin

Submitted by Bleichpsychert (not verified) on 13 December, 2009 - 22:17.

Did they check the local Jehovah Witnesses?

I personally know they didn't investigate the G12 Vision church that meets at her school on Sundays.

JWs are known to sell crafts. http://www.google.com/profiles/115187453957742301459

Mariam's case now on America's Most Wanted site

Submitted by Jasmine on 25 November, 2009 - 19:28.

Investigators in Toronto have turned to a popular American crime show for help with the case of missing teen Mariam Makhniashvili.

America's Most Wanted is now featuring the girl's disappearance on its website.

The site reveals a few new details about the case.

Toronto police have said that Mariam walked to Forest Hill Collegiate on Sept. 14 with her brother George but opted to go into the high school from the front entrance rather than the side door.

The website says Mariam and her brother -- who were both new at the school this year -- took the same route to school everyday and always went in through the side entrance. On the day Mariam disappeared, she broke the routine by going in through the front entrance.

Mariam never made it to class and hasn't been seen since.

The website also says that George first noticed Mariam was missing at noon when the girl failed to meet him for their lunch date.

Continues/...

http://toronto.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20091125/Mariam_AMW_09112...

Mariam's mom, brother lead search

Submitted by Ellen on 22 November, 2009 - 00:26.

Mariam Makhniashvili's mom and brother handed out flyers and held up placards with Mariam's picture at Yonge-Dundas Square today in an effort to keep the missing young woman in the public eye.

Makhniashvili, 18, disappeared Sept. 14 after she walked to Forest Hill Collegiate Institute with her brother George, 16.

Joined by about a dozen other concerned citizens hoping to prompt a break in the baffling disappearance, Mariam's mom Lela Tabidze handed out flyers in front of the Eaton Centre and along Yonge St.

Continues/...

http://tinyurl.com/yffr3kr

Mariam interviews winding down at her school

Submitted by Ellen on 20 November, 2009 - 22:17.

Police are winding down their face-to-face interviews of students at Forest Hill Collegiate, briefly the school of missing teen Mariam Makhniashvili, without any new leads developed.

"The interviews are nearly completed. No new developments in the investigation," Const. Tony Vella, a Toronto Police Service spokesperson, told ctvtoronto.ca on Friday.

"The story remains a mystery on her whereabouts," he said.

The search is also winding down at the Ingram transfer station, where garbage from the Bathurst Street and Eglinton Avenue West neighbourhood is taken, he said.

Continues/...

http://tinyurl.com/yf4z8q4

Continuing Search for Mariam

Submitted by Ellen on 17 November, 2009 - 23:11.

The search for missing Toronto teen Mariam Makhniashvili has lead a team of police officers back to a garbage transfer site to search for clues, while investigators continue to interview the girls' schoolmates one by one.

Several cruisers were parked outside the Ingram Transfer Station on Tuesday as police scoured piles of garbage for any evidence in the case. This is the second time police have gone to the site in less than a week.

Sources at the scene told CTV Toronto they returned to the site to finish the work they began last week and not because of any new leads that have surfaced.

Continues/...

http://tinyurl.com/yfe398q

Student-by-student search for Mariam

Submitted by Ellen on 16 November, 2009 - 21:30.

Investigators are back at Forest Hill Collegiate today talking to students as they continue to think "outside the box" in the bizarre two-month old disappearance of Mariam Makhniashvili.

Toronto Police visited the Bathurst St. and Eglinton Ave. W. high school shortly after the then-17-year-old girl vanished Sept. 14, but this time detectives are talking to the kids one-on-one.

"We're doing everything we possibly can to find Mariam," Const. Tony Vella said.

The school's 980 students were given consent forms to take home to their parents over the weekend and officers began interviewing the teenagers this morning.

Continues/...

http://www.torontosun.com/news/torontoandgta/2009/11/16/11763736.html

Garbage dump searched again

Submitted by Larry on 13 November, 2009 - 20:02.

Toronto police have returned on Friday morning 13/11/09 to North York garbage dump, seeking new evidence in the disappearance of Mariam Makhniashvili. The garbage dump is where refuse from Mariam's midtown neighbourhood is taken weekly and was searched four days into the investigation. This latest search could determine if anything that wasn't disposed of before has been disposed of now.

Ongoing canvassing of the neighbourhood will see officers knock on more than 6,000 doors over the next few weeks, looking for evidence inside the homes, as well as gauging people's body language as they answer questions about the disappearance of the missing girl, now 18 years old.

Source: Regina Leader-Post
http://tinyurl.com/yaum3ll

Police to canvass neighbours for Mariam clues

Submitted by Jasmine on 9 November, 2009 - 16:17.

Toronto police will begin canvassing door-to-door this afternoon, looking for new information in their search for missing teen Mariam Makhniashvili.

Police spokesman Mark Pugash said 60 uniformed officers will be knocking on doors today. Makhniashvili disappeared almost two months ago while walking to Forest Hill Collegiate.

The door-to-door canvassing will be focused in the area where Makhniashvili went missing, Pugash said. The school is located near Eglinton Ave. W. and Bathurst St.

Continues/...

http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/article/723143--police-to-canvass-neighb...

Cops scour parks again for Mariam

Submitted by Jasmine on 7 November, 2009 - 15:25.

The high profile search for missing Toronto teen Mariam Makhniashvili was thrown back into the spotlight today as cops returned to two parks in their search for clues.

Uniformed officers on the ground and an Ontario Provincial Police chopper above searched Sherwood Park, near Mount Pleasant Rd. and Eglinton Ave., and Earl Bales Park, near Bathurst St. and Sheppard Ave., where fallen leaves have left trees bare and more transparent than what cops had faced during previous searches.

"There is evidence to support that there may be something at the two locations," Toronto Police Const. Tony Vella said.

Continues/...

http://www.torontosun.com/news/torontoandgta/2009/11/06/11660006.html

Aerial search finds no clues in teen hunt

Submitted by Jasmine on 7 November, 2009 - 15:24.

An OPP helicopter sweep of two Toronto parks Friday failed to turn up new leads in the search for Mariam Makhniashvili.

Toronto police used the chopper, equipped with heat-seeking equipment and capable of taking high-resolution photos, to scan Earl Bales Park and Sherwood Park

Fallen leaves provided better sightlines, yet offered no leads about what happened to the teen, who vanished Sept. 14 outside Forest Hill Collegiate.

Continues/...

http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/mariam/article/722526--aerial-search-fin...

Police to use helicopter again in search for Mariam

Submitted by Jasmine on 6 November, 2009 - 15:09.

Toronto police say they will use an Ontario Provincial Police helicopter to do another search of Earl Bales Park and Sherwood Park in the disappearance of Mariam Makhniashvili.

Police have not said why they are doing a second search.

Mariam was last seen outside Forest Hill Collegiate Institute on Sept. 14.

Police say they are looking for any evidence.

http://www.cp24.com/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20091106/0911106_mariam/200...

Thoughts are with Mariam and her family

Submitted by Admin on 31 October, 2009 - 18:46.

Hope some good news reaches you soon

@HelpFindMyChild <<< twitter
HFMC Dedicated to helping families find their missing children

Library computers reveal little in search for Mariam

Submitted by Larry on 31 October, 2009 - 14:42.

Police say little evidence to locate Mariam Makhniashvili has been found from public library computers which are now being returned to the libraries.

Mariam had accounts on Hotmail and Facebook, which her father, Vakhtang, checks daily.

Police in the Republic of Georgia, where Mariam grew up before moving to Canada last June, are now being asked to talk to her family and close friends on behalf of Toronto detectives.

Checks of government databases show she has not left Canada by air or land since her disappearance.

Police said their biggest break so far was on October 8th when Mariam's backpack was found in the Yonge St. and Eglington Ave. area.

Mariam's father still believes she was kidnapped but police said there's no evidence to suggest that.

Source: Toronto Sun
http://www.torontosun.com/news/torontoandgta/2009/10/31/11587956-sun.html

Libraries' computers seized in Mariam case

Submitted by Ellen on 27 October, 2009 - 22:41.

Toronto police seized 27 computers from two Toronto public libraries as part of their investigation into the disappearance of Mariam Makhniashvili, who turns 18 today.

This morning, investigators seized six public-access computers from Forest Hill and 21 computers from Barbara Frum, branches that the Toronto teen visited on many occasions before her disappearance Sept. 14.

"We know that Mariam attended the library for the purpose of using the computer prior to her disappearance," said Const. Tony Vella, adding police are checking for traces of emails she may have sent or websites she may have visited.

Investigators are hoping to find clues about the teenager's state of mind, as well as any people she may have been speaking with before she vanished. Vella was not able to comment on whether Makhniashvili was at either library on the day she disappeared while walking to her school, Forest Hill Collegiate.

Continues/...

http://tinyurl.com/ygumydh

In our thoughts Mariam

Submitted by Ruperta on 27 October, 2009 - 22:30.

Happy 18th Birthday Mariam x

Submitted by Jasmine on 27 October, 2009 - 11:48.

Hope you're back home very soon with your family x

Thinking of you ... Mariam

Submitted by Larry on 27 October, 2009 - 04:27.

Thinking of Mariam on her 18th Birthday today.

Mariam's parents talk about how they feel - video

Submitted by Larry on 26 October, 2009 - 16:20.

Missing Mariam on Interpol list

Submitted by Ruperta on 18 October, 2009 - 12:45.

The search for missing Mariam Makhniashvili has gone international with her photo and information posted on an Interpol website that tries to locate missing children.

Makhniashvili's description, date of disappearance and place of birth are included in a posting Thursday on the site that contains 158 children of all ages who are missing internationally.

The site describes her as 5-feet-1 and weighing 119 pounds, with brown eyes and hair. It contains an Interpol yellow notice, which means she's a missing child. She turns 18 on Oct. 27.

Police forces from 186 countries are members of Interpol, whose website also contains mugshots of some of the world's most sought-after fugitives.

http://www.torontosun.com/news/torontoandgta/2009/10/18/11438576-sun.html

Police address schools regarding Mariam - video

Submitted by Larry on 16 October, 2009 - 14:23.

Police speaking to students in area backpack was found

Submitted by Larry on 14 October, 2009 - 20:27.

Toronto Police will speak to students at high schools in the area where Mariam Makhniashvilli's backpack was found. Detectives will hold assemblies tomorrow morning for students at Northern Secondary School and with those attending North Toronto Collegiate Institute.

Mariam's backpack, with her school books spilling out of it, was found last Thursday behind an apartment building at 120 Eglinton Avenue. Police have set up a command post in the area as they try to collect new clues about Mariam's disappearance.

Source: 680News
http://tinyurl.com/ykk9ul3

Hi

Submitted by Site Visitor (not verified) on 9 May, 2010 - 08:45.

well lots of people go missing but they never go missing just like that, either someone kidnappes or there must be a reason for disappearing like this. Why dont the police try to find out who else is missing from that school, it might give clue maybe she gone missing with someone else. And try to ask their parents or brother about how their relationship was. it might give a clue if she wasnt happy with her family, therefore she left or someone might've forced her.

thinking on whot could of happened to Mariam

Submitted by Site Visitor (not verified) on 27 May, 2010 - 00:26.

In my opinion she defenetly was kidnaped. I think she was kidnaped rith neear the school as she was walking after separating from her brather. If anybody pay atention, haw she is walking on that video in the Union Station. She is in her world. She never even open her eyes and never pay attention on what in front of her, or on the sides. She was reading same broshures and keep of walking this way. In my opinion, after separating from her brather Gorge, she was walking to the main entrance and very likly was doing same thing. maybe walking and reeding, after all school was new and limited english. It was probebly not easy. So she decided to take few minutes, like reeding and walking. I feel that same moment she was pushed to the car. Most likly like a ven.I feel that they probebly was desparate to kidnap same gerle and would not efreid to cam that close to the school. Even teacher,s parking lot for example. who would of pay attention, who is caming or going. everething is fast. It could of happend really fast and nobody just did not noticed anething. In my opinion gerl like Mariam could of never wran away from her home. It is just not in her nature or culture. And I also feel that probebly as the kidnappers was driving with her in the car, they dropped that back pack on that place, where it was found. Wy? I thing so people would look for her close to the scool. Whot is actually happend, when actually they draw her away.
In my opinion if police would look for same camera, that whoud show all the passing car in that day, oround mayby 9:00 am- 9:30am. All the van or suw. On Eglington and Yang for exapmle, samware in that direction, or around.And check whose cars was that.Maybe deferent province too. Anething suspitiouse.
I hope she is alive and will be found and my best wishes to her perents and a brother.
Also maybe check who elso was absent in that school that day.

One month today since Mariam went missing

Submitted by Jasmine on 14 October, 2009 - 14:09.

Discovery of backpack sparks new hope

Submitted by Larry on 11 October, 2009 - 01:58.

For two weeks a vital clue in the case of a missing girl sat behind an apartment building as unsuspecting residents passed by, until one of those residents looked inside the discarded backpack and discovered it belonged to Mariam Makhniashvili.

Police have renewed their search, going door to door in the Yonge and Eglinton neighbourhood and 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 says he’s comforted by the recent developments.

Source: CityNews
http://tinyurl.com/yzoe8ql

Missing Mariam's parents in tv plea after her backpack found

Submitted by Jasmine on 10 October, 2009 - 15:14.

Backpack discovery good news

Submitted by Larry on 10 October, 2009 - 13:13.

The mother of Mariam Makhniashvili said the discovery of her daughter's backpack is good news, but she did not want to draw any conclusions from this yet.

"It (Mariam's bag) gave us some hope because you can't imagine what we went through this month, the whole month without any trace, no leads, nothing," Tabidze said

Tabidze and husband Vakhtang would not speculate on where their daughter is now, less than three weeks ahead of her 18th birthday, but said Mariam was not familiar with the Yonge St. and Eglinton Ave. E. area where her bag was found, just a couple of kilometres from home.

"We never left her for five minutes because she was new, new, adjusting to a new environment and she is a little shy and was scared to go by herself," Tabidze said.

"The faces we see, the cheerful children, we want to see her among them and every little detail will help us," Tabidze said.

Source: Toronto Sun
http://tinyurl.com/yfb9d7o

Mariam's backpack and books found

Submitted by Larry on 9 October, 2009 - 18:36.

Mariam Makhniashvili's backpack has been found in a parking lot behind 120 Eglinton Ave. E., just a few kilometres away from where the teen was last seen.

The backpack was open when police arrived and contained school books and loose-leaf binders belonging to Mariam. Police are searching for any further items that may have spilled from the bag.

"This is the first tangible item that we've discovered," said Det. Dan Nealon of Toronto police. "And so we're always hopeful that something like this certainly would lead us to the whereabouts of Mariam."

They hope that video surveillance from nearby buildings in the area near Eglinton Avenue East and Yonge Street might capture an image of the missing teen or whoever put the knapsack in the parking lot.

Police believe that this wasn't the original location where the bag was in the area. It could have been moved from elsewhere nearby. They say they will continue to search and canvas the area for the rest of the day.

Source: CBC News
http://tinyurl.com/yke2quj

Passerby finds Mariam's backpack

Submitted by jljayne on 9 October, 2009 - 14:30.

http://toronto.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20091009/makhniashvili_backpack_091009/20091009/?hub=TorontoNewHome

Passerby found Mariam's backpack several blocks east of her school and turned it in to police.

Police may have lead in search for missing Mariam

Submitted by Larry on 9 October, 2009 - 09:49.

Toronto police may finally have a lead in their efforts to find missing Mariam Makhniashvili.

Police have found property near Northern Secondary School in the Mount Pleasant and Eglinton area. Although police haven't linked it conclusively to Mariam they believe it will aid them in their search.

Efforts to track down the missing teen have so far yielded little. The search for her has been widened through Crime Stoppers International and videos about Mariam are posted on YouTube in both English and Georgian.

Last seen outside her school, Mariam had little cash, no cell phone or passport with her when she disappeared.

Source: The Globe and Mail
http://tinyurl.com/yzgajfy

Friend says Mariam was happy

Submitted by Larry on 7 October, 2009 - 17:44.

Missing Georgian girl Mariam Makhniashvili was happy the day before she left her native Georgia to move to Canada to be reunited with her parents, her friend said.

Mariam's friend Dea Gigauri, 17, said from Tbilisi, Georgia, that she and a friend spent time with Mariam the day before she and her brother left for Toronto in June."She was happy," Gigauri said. "She was looking forward to seeing her parents." "I'm sure that she wouldn't run away, so there is left one other way, that she is kidnapped, so if it is so, then it can't be connected with her friends or family," Gigauri said.

Toronto Police spokesman Const. Wendy Drummond reiterated the police stance that investigators are probing all information they receive but that as of yet, there has been nothing that could be referred to as a break in the case.

Source: Toronto Sun
http://tinyurl.com/ybdxxcb

Missing teen's parents say the waiting is torture

Submitted by Larry on 2 October, 2009 - 21:19.

The parents of missing Mariam Makhniashvili, who will be 18 on October 27th, say they can only sit, wait and hope that good news comes soon about their daughter.

"When I go through my mind pictures of what might have happened to her, it's almost a kind of torture," said her father, Vakhtang Makhniashvili. "Somebody probably kidnapped her. That was my first thought," Vakhtang said. "She would do anything, because she was very strong-willed person, and she would do anything to escape, probably." If someone did kidnap her, he said: "Let her go, and I'll be more than willing to do anything I can."

Vakhtang and wife Lea have stayed in seclusion at their sparsely furnished 20 Shallmar Blvd. apartment, where Mariam's room remains unchanged, with a neatly-made bed and her clothes hanging. The police have removed a few items. Her parents endlessly review family photo albums.

Toronto police say that there is no evidence so far to support a clear direction in the case -- either that she voluntarily ran away, a victim of foul play or something else entirely.

Source: CTV Toronto
http://tinyurl.com/yc2hb2j

Police question inmate over Mariam's disappearance

Submitted by Jasmine on 1 October, 2009 - 14:56.

A 38-year-old in custody for allegedly stalking and assaulting a woman was questioned in connection with the disappearance of Mariam Makhniashvili.

The 17-year-old vanished on Sept. 14. Her brother says he left her that morning near the front of their school, Forest Hill Collegiate Institute.

Four days after Makhniashvili. went missing, detectives arrested Bartosz Gajewski in connection with another incident. The west end resident was charged with criminal harassment and assault causing bodily harm. His alleged victim lives in the same area the missing teen disappeared in.

http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/article/703326