There have been reported sightings in the Ottawa area of two teenage girls who went missing from an Algonquin reserve outside Maniwaki, Que., over a month ago, officials said Wednesday.

Investigators from the reserve as well as the RCMP and the Sûreté du Quebec are involved in the search for Maisy Odjick, 16, and Shannon Alexander, 17, as the girls' families continue to appeal to the public for help.

The teens were last seen on the Kitigan Zibi Anishnabeg First Nation reserve about 145 km north of Ottawa on Sept 6.

"Lately we've been getting, since we put it out in the news countrywide, … reported sightings of these girls mostly in the Ottawa area," said Gorden Douglas, director of policing on the reserve.

Bryan Alexander, Shannon's father, was the last person to see them – Maisy was going to stay overnight with Shannon at Alexander's apartment.

He left for Ottawa on Sept. 6 to paint his son's house. When he returned to the reserve the next day, he found no sign of either girl, and Shannon had left her identification, wallet and clothes behind.

Police have not ruled out the possibility that the two girls were taken against their will.

But the girls' families have said Maisy and Shannon have a history of leaving their homes unannounced for a few days at a time.

"What concerns me the most is that historically, First Nations girls leave the territories and they get involved in something in the city that's not too healthy for them – a lifestyle that could probably lead to something worse, and that's what we want to stop before it gets any worse," said Douglas.

Meanwhile, Lisa Odjick expressed hope Wednesday that her granddaughter, Maisy, will reach out to her family.

"This is living hell," Lisa Odjick, Maisy's grandmother, said Wednesday. "I keep hoping [Maisy will] call to at least let me know that she's alive."