Inside a makeshift command post in the heart of North York, volunteers came on Sunday afternoon from across Toronto to pick up fresh stacks of new missing-person posters that showed the latest developments in the search for Esther, 14, now into its second week.
“So I’m sending you to Bathurst and Finch and also Bathurst and Sheppard,” a Shomrim Toronto safety patrol worker tells a father and son, indicating where the duo should travel to tape up their allotment of posters.
On the weekend, Toronto police issued new information in the search for the teen known as Esther, or Esti, who’s been gone from her family’s home since running away late on May 15.
Police confirmed she had been spotted near Bathurst Street and Hotspur Road around midnight Saturday, May 16. That is about two kilometres south of Earl Bales Park, where the teen first fled, reportedly after a family argument. She left without her phone, shoes or a coat.
Toronto police also released a new photo of her on May 23, showing her wearing grey sweatpants and a green top. The photo appears to be taken from security camera images, and looks like she was in some kind of restaurant.
Searchers told The CJN on Sunday that it was a Popeyes fast food outlet located near Bathurst and the 401, a few blocks north of Hotspur.
“There’s footage of her at Bathurst and Hotspur, [and] clear footage inside the Popeyes. That’s the last confirmed footage that we have,” said Simmy Zieleniec, a spokesman for the Shomrim safety patrol.
Zieleniec’s civilian organization has been working closely with Toronto police and also with provincial officials.
After the new sightings, Shomrim moved its original command post to a new location, just steps away from that Popeyes restaurant. It’s now on the ground floor of a commercial office building at 345 Wilson Ave, and is open for volunteers to help in the search.
Also on the weekend, Toronto police set up a dedicated website called FindEsther to collect tips and information that could help lead to finding the girl. There is also a telephone number to call: 647-355-4148.
Volunteers braved the rainy weather on Sunday May 23 to help searchers put up new posters about the missing Toronto teenager Esther, who left home nine days ago. (Photo by Ellin Bessner/The CJN)
While Toronto police respond to over 4,000 missing persons cases every year, they rarely deploy such a broad response as has been activated in this situation. Police activated a Level 1 search last week. The family disclosed that Esther is on the autism spectrum, which makes police extra concerned for her safety.
Police are urging people to submit any video or photo evidence through a portal on the special Esther website, or through Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-TIPS (8477), or at www.222tips.com.
Aside from the new surveillance image and confirmed sighting of the missing 14-year-old, supporters have announced a $25,000 reward leading to information that could bring Esther home.
“Yesterday, somebody came forward offering a reward. They coordinated it with the family. So those posters [announcing the reward] are going out as well today,” Zieleniec said. He declined to say who is behind the reward.
“Information that will result in Esti coming back … whoever provides that information will be rewarded, will be compensated.”
Posters ripped down
Sander Hitzig turned up at the command post Sunday together with his teenaged son, also 14. It was his son’s idea to come help look for the girl, who is the same age, he said.
While the son declined to be interviewed, Hitzig said they live in the same area as Esther’s family and his son attended the same Dublin public elementary school that she attended.
The pair had heard through social media of the vandalism of existing posters.
“It’s awful. I mean, this is a missing kid. It has nothing to do with being Jewish. I think any community, if you have a kid that’s missing and you can help out, you should help out and not tear it down. I don’t know what’s wrong with people!” Hitzig told The CJN.
Torn poster for missing teen Esther at Earl Bales Park entrance on Sunday May 24, 2026 (Ellin Bessner photo for The CJN)
Pieces of the torn poster for the missing teenager Esther lie below the utility pole at the entrance to Earl Bales Park on Sunday May 24, 2026. (Ellin Bessner photo for The CJN.)
Only the tape remains of a poster of missing teen Esther on this utility pole on Bathurst Street near York Downs Drive, Sunday May 23, 2026. (Photo by Ellin Bessner/The CJN)
Reports of the posters being torn down came in from across the city, reminding community members like Shawna Kaufman of how local anti-Israel protesters destroyed countless red and white posters of the Israeli hostages after Oct. 7.
“I’m hoping to find out who it is. I think it’s multiple people, obviously very sick individuals. And in my neighbourhood where I live, in North York, it’s disturbing to see up and down Yonge Street and also up and down Bathurst Street,” said Kaufman, who is director of operations at Canadian Women Against Antisemitism, a grass-roots advocacy group.
“I did notice that in the area where she first went missing, the posters are still up, but a lot of them have been ripped down. And you can tell from the rain which ones have been destroyed and which ones have been ripped down because it’s just the middle kind of ripped out and then the top and the bottom are affixed to the poles,” she told The CJN as she arrived to collect new posters.
The CJN saw torn posters on light poles and bus shelters along Bathurst Street from Finch down to the command post. New ones were being taped over them Sunday from Atkinson Avenue in Thornhill, to downtown.
Advice about autistic kids
Victor Fisico has already been searching on his own this week in the stairwells of his apartment building, and near the 7-Eleven convenience store which is at Bathurst and Haddington and open 24 hours a day, and along Hotspur.
Fisico, a hospital worker, has an autistic son who is 27. Before arriving Sunday to help Shomrim’s search, Fisico consulted with the young man to understand what might have prompted Esther, who is also on the autism spectrum, to run away.
“The thing about autism, kids with autism, their brains are like computers. So his brain is like a sponge. So everything he learns and sees and does, he soaks it all in. So I think it’s the same thing with her,” Fisico suggested, explaining that perhaps Esther was overwhelmed by something that happened before she took off.
Fisico’s son used to run away, too, before he was better able to control his behaviour. The family knew he would always head for the same spot along the lakeshore.
Neighbour Victor Fisico has been searching for Esther on his own, having lived through similar experiences with his own autistic son. (Photo by Ellin Bessner for The CJN.)
He hopes Esther has the presence of mind to do what his own son has often done when he was on the run and hungry.
“Like my son said, she could always get food from somewhere. She could always ask for food and they’ll give it to her. ‘Cause he said that that’s happened to him when he’s ran away. He would go to a closest restaurant and they would give him food, he would look really upset and ‘Here you go!’, ” Fisico added.
He also believes from experience that Esther would have boarded a bus that late at night, without much difficulty.
The newest poster from Shomrim said Esther was last seen traveling on the bus heading downtown at 12:35 a.m. Saturday, May 16.
That’s why Mark and Laurie Naimer were heading to the TTC stations, with their stack of posters.
“We’re going to two different subway lines, putting up the posters, covering over the old ones because there’s updated information. We’re going to talk to the attendants and the service people that work there,” said Mark Naimer, a father of two.
“And we’re going to ask as many people if they’ve seen her and just raise awareness as best as possible to bring this girl home,” said Laurie Naimer.
She was worried about the length of time that has now elapsed since Esther went missing.
“Everything can escalate. Unfortunately, this seems like it’s escalated, you know? [It’s] not just a simple running away, because it’s been at the week mark. So whatever we can do to help out, we’re here to do our part,” Laurie said.
Why no Amber Alert?
Some community members have been wondering why the search for Esther has not been widened to use other means of getting the message out besides analog posters and social media posts.
While there have been behind-the-scenes consultation with the Ontario Provincial Police force, there has not been an Amber Alert issued in this case. Alerts such as these are rarely used in Canada. In 2025, there were a total of five issued for the entire country, of which two were in Ontario. However, the digital mass broadcast is not deployed when someone has run away.
“Yeah, a lot of people are asking about that,” acknowledged Simmy Zieleniec of Shomrim Toronto. “An Amber Alert is specifically for abduction. So we don’t believe that there’s an abduction at this point.”
Shomrim also has its own dedicated phone number for people who would like to help or have information: 647-478-2230
Shomrim Toronto volunteer Simmy Zieleniec said about 500 people have come to volunteer since the teen went missing May 15, 20206. (Ellin Bessner photo for The CJN.)
Volunteers were trying to spread the word beyond the Bathurst corridor to downtown, including to security guards at shopping malls, and to property managers of office buildings.
An attempt was also made to ask for Esther’s posters to be displayed on the giant screens during the international pop star Bruno Mars’ series of five outdoor concerts being held this week at the Rogers Stadium in Toronto’s Downsview Park.
A spokesperson for the promoter, Live Nation, said posters have been placed at their Guest Services booths at the 50,000 seat arena, as well as outside the venue.
“We have also shared the information with Toronto Police as part of their onsite briefing. Hoping she is found safely,” said Shabnum Durrani, vice president of public affairs, in an email to The CJN on Sunday evening, ahead of the first concert.
Ellin is a journalist and author who has worked for CTV News, CBC News, The Canadian Press and JazzFM. She authored the book Double Threat: Canadian Jews, the Military and WWII (2019) and contributed to Northern Lights: A Canadian Jewish History (2020). Currently a resident of Richmond Hill, Ont., she is a fan of Outlander, gardening, birdwatching and the Toronto Maple Leafs. Contact her at [email protected].