Martin O'Carrigan says he has nothing to hide.

That's why he didn't think twice when officers showed up at his door Monday asking to search his apartment for clues in the case of a missing Toronto teen. He even opened up his closet door for the two detectives to get a closer look.

"They were just doing their jobs," said O'Carrigan, adding he had no qualms about letting the "very personable" detectives search his apartment, in the same building where the family of 18-year-old Mariam Makhniashvili lives.

In what police are calling an unprecedented move, they have assigned 60 detective constables from squads such as fraud, sex crimes and homicide to canvass about 6,000 homes in the midtown area where Mariam lived and went to school.

While O'Carrigan responded to a list of questions about whether he saw Mariam or anything suspicious around the time of her disappearance on Sept. 14, the officers listened attentively. They took note of what he said and how he said it.

"If you've got nothing to hide, just answer the questions. Someone in the building must know something, some lead, some tip, something that will help," said O'Carrigan.

Police are hoping to find that someone. For the next two or three weeks, plainclothes officers will visit houses, condos and apartments near Bathurst St. and Eglinton Ave. W., targeting Shallmar Blvd., where the family lives.

"You will expect a knock at your door and police will keep knocking at your door," Det. Sgt. Dan Nealon told a news conference. "We're also asking to be invited into your home just for a quick peek into areas of your home to ensure that there is no evidence ... and we can move on."

While people have the right not to answer questions from police or let them into their homes, those who do not co-operate may find themselves subject to a search warrant, said the lead investigator. In the past, such door-to-door searches have raised concerns by the Canadian Civil Liberties Association because residents felt intimidated and threatened by the presence of officers.

No one from the association could be reached for comment Monday, but residents told the Star they did not mind the police presence.

"There's a missing child involved, why wouldn't you help?" said one man, who asked that his name not be used.

Even though police visited homes in the area after her disappearance, this "intensive investigative canvass" will enable investigators to "drill down," said Nealon, adding there is no evidence of foul play.

One resident, who lives above the Makhniashvili family, said this second visit by police was much more thorough.

"Last time, they didn't come in and we just had a very short conversation in front of the door," said the man, who asked not to be identified. But this time, he said, officers entered his apartment and looked inside cupboards, closets, and the refrigerator.

The canvass comes after failed attempts by police to drum up leads in a case that has baffled them. In the nearly two months since Mariam disappeared, police have appealed for help at three high schools, used helicopters to search two Toronto parks and seized 27 computers from two public libraries to try to trace her emails and Internet surfing. The city has been papered with posters and officers have followed up on hundreds of tips. But still, no clues.

The teen disappeared after walking to Forest Hill Collegiate with her brother. They parted ways outside and she never made it to class.

The siblings had moved to Toronto in late June from the Republic of Georgia to be reunited with their parents, who had been living in California for five years. Her parents have said she did not speak English very well, had no friends and did not know her way around Toronto. She left home without her passport and with no money.

On Monday, police released a new digitally enhanced photo of Mariam in the clothes she wore Sept. 14. The image will be displayed on a large information screen outside the Yonge-Eglinton Centre, which is near where Mariam's knapsack was found last month, in a parking lot behind 120 Eglinton Ave. E.

The intersection is "one of the busiest areas in the city and hopefully it'll grab someone's attention," said Nealon.





With files from Ann Hui and Leslie Ferenc