Police begin searching Saskatoon landfill in case of woman missing since 2020

Police are beginning a search of the Saskatoon landfill on Wednesday as part of their investigation into the 2020 disappear‐ ance of Mackenzie Lee Trottier.

The search will focus on a specific area of the landfill that is about 930 cubic me‐ tres and one metre deep, and could take as long as 33 days.

When they announced the search last month, police said information from some seized devices led them to the location in late 2023, but experts advised that waiting until this time of year would be the best time to conduct the search.

"On one hand we would like to find nothing and then we'll continue looking," deputy chief Cameron McBride said at the an‐ nouncement. "On the other hand, we may find her and then we'll proceed down the next course of the investiga‐ tion."

Trottier, who was 22 when she went missing, was last seen on Dec. 21, 2020.

Her family has worked to bring attention to her case, including conducting an in‐ terprovincial poster cam‐ paign in 2021 and offering a $20,000 reward for informa‐ tion leading to her return.

Her father, Paul Trottier, spoke at the news confer‐ ence when police announced the landfill search.

"Mackenzie is our firstborn - or as we call her, Mac," he said. "She loves animals, is very bright and has always been prepared to take those under her wing who need

Saskatoon police have expe‐ rience searching the landfill, as outlined in a podcast they released last year into the disappearance of Kandice Singbeil.

Singbeil is a 32-year-old mother who went missing in 2015. At one point, police be‐ lieved she may have been killed and her body placed in a downtown dumpster. It turned out not to be the case, but the podcast de‐ tailed how police approached the search.

WATCH | Hunt for Mackenzie Trottier could draw on lessons from earli‐ er landfill searches:

They used cadaver dog teams from the Calgary Police Service, and forensic anthropologist Ernie Walker assisted with the search.

Saskatoon police have said Calgary police and Walker will be helping with the search for Trottier, as well.