'Major search' underway for teen girls missing in Algonquin Park

A "major search" is underway for apair of teen girls last seen three days ago on a trail in Algonquin Park, Ontario Provincial Police said Sunday.

Maya Mirota and Marta Malek, both 16, have been missing since the night of July11, when they were last spotted on Western Uplands Trail near Rainbow Lake.

OPP, the Ontario Search and Rescue Association, and park wardens and staff are all involved in the search effort.An OPP helicopter and fixed-wing plane from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry are also assisting.

The two girls,both experienced campers from theKitchener, Ont., area,were on a group camping trip when they disappeared, said Bill Dickson, a spokespersonfor the OPP's east region.

Dickson said they were on their way to meet up with the rest of their group, but failedto arrive.

"They're not strangers to the woods. They do have some experience," Dickson said.

"They had a tent. They had some other equipment. And they had some supplies enough to last them a day or two. So we're hoping that they were able to tide things over, and we are confident we are going to find these girls alive."

Neither girl had a cell phone, Dickson added.

Dense forest

The search is currently focused on the western expanses of the sprawling provincial park.

While the trail they were last spotted on is"fairly well-worn," Dickson said a hikerwho inadvertently ended up leaving the trail wouldquickly find themselves in dense forest.

"You would have a hard time, maybe, finding that trail again," he said.

Mirota is described as roughly five-feet tall with a thin build and long auburn hair.

Malek is approximately six-feet tall withshoulder-length dirty blondehair and wears glasses.

Anyone with information should call OPP at 1-888-310-1122. Dickson said policehave received a number of tips since the girls disappeared.