CP24 has learned that police have questioned an inmate currently being held in the Don Jail about the disappearance of Toronto teen Mariam Makhniashvili.
Toronto resident Bartosz Gajewski, 38, has been questioned in connection with the 17-year-old’s disappearance. He is currently being held in the Don Jail on several charges related to an attempted abduction.
Gajewski was arrested Sept. 18 in an unrelated case, four days after the girl’s disappearance. He is charged with criminal harassment and assault causing bodily harm in connection with the stalking and attempted abduction of a woman in north central Toronto.
The area is policed by 53 Division, which also includes the school where Makhniashvili was last seen, Forest Hill Collegiate Institute.
Although he has been questioned, police say at this time there appears to be no connection.
Police are also investigating whether there’s a link between Makhniashvili and a Georgian-Canadian religious leader.
The man is said to have convinced 35 students from the former Soviet republic to move to Canada with him and cut ties with their families. He is believed to be an evangelical priest somewhere in Toronto.
Makhniashvili disappeared Sept. 14 after walking to Forest Hill Collegiate Institute with her brother George. She told him she would be going in the front door and has not been seen since.
She is described as five-foot-three, with light brown shoulder-length hair and brown eyes. She was last seen wearing black pants, a light blue shirt and a dark blue jean jacket. She was carrying a large black backpack with a green stripe.
Anyone with information should call Crime Stoppers at 416-222-TIPS.
