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.
In the meantime, about 20 officers returned to Forest Hill Collegiate Tuesday morning to interview students at the high school, located in the Bathurst Street and Eglinton Avenue area.
Police began questioning the 980 students individually on Monday in hopes of uncovering new leads in their investigation. They are expected to finish the task by the end of the week.
Mariam's case has baffled authorities and the neighbourhood. The girl disappeared Sept. 14 after she walked to school with her brother.
When the siblings arrived, Mariam told her brother she'd be going to class through a separate entrance at the front of the building. But the girl never made it to class and hasn't been seen since.
Police say they have no solid leads in the case. Mariam, who moved to Toronto from the Republic of Georgia with her family in June, had not made any friends. Nonetheless her family insists the stable, responsible girl would not have run away.
The only clue so far has been Mariam's schoolbag which was found a few kilometres east of where she was last seen. A passerby found the bag behind a building on Eglinton Avenue just east of Yonge Street.
Last week, police announced they were stepping up their investigation by deploying 60 officers to go door-to-door canvassing the neighbourhood. Officers are asking people to let them briefly into their homes for a quick look. Without such an invitation, they would require a search warrant.
On Friday, police searched the Ingram transfer station for clues. Det. Sgt. Dan Nealon, who is heading the case, told reporters they are searching the garbage site because someone may have thrown out evidence after being spooked by the increased police presence.
Mariam is white, 5'3" with light brown, shoulder-length hair and brown eyes. She was last seen wearing black jeans with front and back pockets and buttons as well as a baby blue, long-sleeved v-neck shirt. She was wearing a waist-length blue jean jacket.
People with information are asked to contact police at 416-808-5300, Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-TIPS (8477), online at www.222tips.com, or text TOR and a message to CRIMES (274637).
