Mariam Makhniashvili has been missing since Sept. 14. (Toronto Police Service)

The RCMP believe an 18-year-old woman who disappeared from Toronto almost three months ago could be in the Calgary area, but her parents are expressing caution.

Okotoks RCMP on Wednesday asked for help finding Mariam Makhniashvili, who was last seen by her brother when they walked to their Toronto high school Sept. 14. RCMP say she may have been spotted on her birthday – Oct. 27 — in Okotoks, just outside Calgary.

RCMP said in a news release that the girl was seen trying to sell dream catchers and other crafts to several local businesses in Okotoks on Oct. 27.

One local business owner told CBC News that a woman matching Mariam's description came to her store. The woman appeared to have dyed her hair blonde, said Sarah Kerekes, who runs a home decor store in Okotoks.

"A girl came in trying to sell us some dream catchers and we told her we weren't interested, it didn't suit our style and she asked then if we would give a donation and basically we said no," said Kerekes on Wednesday.

"She seemed fine. She seemed healthy."

Kerekes said the woman appeared to have an eastern European accent.

Family still suspects abduction

Makhniashvili was last seen by her family when she left for school with her brother Sept. 14. When she did not arrive home from Toronto’s Forest Hill Collegiate Institute, her parents began looking for her and contacted police.

The parents said there was no dispute that would have prompted her to run away. Her father, Vakhtang Makhniashvili, told CBC News on Wednesday that he believes his daughter was kidnapped and the family is reacting cautiously to a possible sighting of Mariam.

“My reaction was very cautious. … It is little possible [but] it’s impossible to imagine Mariam wouldn’t call us or contact us during this time," he said. "And the other thing is we strongly believe this was a kidnapping or abduction.”

Toronto police also seemed cautious.

“People were calling from all over saying that they’ve had possible sightings, especially in the Toronto area. That was one of the first ones that we got that she was no longer in the Toronto area, but nothing’s been confirmed,” said Det. Const. Jennifer Young of the Toronto Police Service.

“It’s just the RCMP working with us to try and help us out and hopefully something positive comes of it.”

Young said RCMP in the Calgary area will be distributing photos and other information about Makniashvili.

Students questioned

The parents lived in Los Angeles for five years before moving to Toronto earlier this summer, while the girl and her brother lived with their grandparents in the Republic of Georgia. The family was reunited when the children moved to Toronto in June.

Toronto police started interviewing each of the 980 students at her school following her disappearance. Sixty police investigators have also gone door-to-door in the Forest Hill neighbourhood to interview about 6,000 residents in an attempt to uncover any clues.

They have also repeatedly conducted searches in three parks in the city, both on the ground and from the air.

The only tangible evidence in the case was uncovered Oct. 8, when police found Makhniashvili's backpack in a Toronto parking lot.

Police in Alberta are asking anyone with information to contact the Okotoks RCMP Detachment at (403) 938-7046, the Toronto Police Service at (416) 808-5300, or if you wish to remain anonymous, Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).