The search for a missing teenaged girl expanded Monday, May 18, more than two days after she was last seen at Earl Bales Park late on Friday, May 15, as volunteers and police continued to look for her.
Esther, also known as Esti, is 14 years old and 5-foot-2-inches tall. She was wearing a green long sleeve T-shirt, grey sweatpants and no shoes when she was seen in the large urban park, in the Bathurst Street and Sheppard Avenue area.
As news that she was missing spread on Jewish social media channels, hundreds of volunteers came to the park late after Shabbat ended on Saturday night to search for her.
At a news conference on Sunday, Toronto Police Inspector Scott Bradbury said officers on horseback, as well as the marine unit were searching the 127-acre wooded park. The park also contains a sizeable stormwater retention pond. Helicopters as well as airborne drones that can search for “heat signatures” were also being used. “I’m very thankful for the community outpouring that’s been here and the support from the neighbours who have been coming down and trying to help with this search as well,” Bradbury said.
“We’re imploring the community and neighbours outside of Earl Bales Park to please review video cameras, to look in the coffee shops, to watch for somebody, a young person, Esther, please, who may be asking for food, money, help or directions.”
About 400 people have volunteered so far in the search, Simmy Zieleniec, a volunteer with Shomrim Safety Patrol, a volunteer group in Toronto, told The CJN on Monday morning.
A volunteer search and rescue team from Rockland County, New York, participated in the search on the weekend, as well as several grassroots organizations, such as Haverim Toronto and Hatzolah.
Shomrim volunteers had a van parked in a synagogue parking lot across the street from the park and were distributing flyers with Esther’s picture on it.
Shomrim Safety Patrol was coordinating volunteers searching for a missing 14-year-old Toronto girl, May 18, 2026. (Credit: Lila Sarick)
The search has broadened from the park and volunteers are now being asked to distribute flyers and canvass door to door, to see if anyone has seen the missing girl, Zieleniec said. The search area has expanded to much of central Toronto from Eglinton Avenue in the south to Steeles Avenue in the north. Volunteers are being asked to visit parks, public places, restaurants and stores in the area and distribute Esther’s picture.
“The community response has been overwhelming, just in terms of volunteers wanting to go out. The police is doing what they do but we’re working more at a grassroot, community level.”
Zieleniec said he couldn’t comment on how the teenaged girl came to be in the park late at night. “The family hasn’t given us too much information. They want to keep it private, but she’s a 14-year-old girl that’s missing, so that’s a top priority.”
This is the first time Shomrim has been involved in such a large search effort, Zieleniec said. “We’re proud of the community for coming out and we’re going to keep on doing everything we can.”
David, who did not want his last name used, came to the Shomrim command post to help on Monday morning. He lives in one of the nearby seniors’ apartment buildings and saw posts on social media about the missing girl.
“I thought it was going to be like kind of an old cowboy movie, part of a search party, but the police are handling that and they (Shomrim) just gave me flyers, which I’m going to put up in my building and maybe if I’m in Sheppard Plaza, I’ll hand out a few.”
Police continued to have a command post at the park on Monday and to search for Esther, a spokesperson for the Toronto Police Services confirmed to The CJN. A police horse trailer was also seen at the park on Monday, Victoria Day, when the park was thronged with picnickers enjoying the warm weather.
Police have asked if anyone spots Esther to “keep an eye on her and let us know where her location is. Please don’t just phone and leave. Keep an eye on her, so we can now track her and make sure that’s she safe,” Bradbury said on Sunday.
Toronto Police Service can be reached at 416-808-2222 or at 32 Division, 416-808-3200. Shomrim can be contacted 647-557-6735.