'Not an easy task': Police begin 'meticulous' search at Saskatoon landfill in Mackenzie Trottier case

Police officers and cadaver dogs have begun searching the Saskatoon landfill for answers in the Mackenzie Lee Trottier case.

Trottier has been missing for more than three years. She was 22-years-old when she was last seen on Dec. 21, 2020, leaving her family home.

Trottier's father, Paul Trottier, said the landfill is "the last place anybody wants to be" when searching for a loved one.

"This is a long, trying and tiring journey that is not yet finished," the woman's father said.

The landfill search marks the first new lead in the case in over a year.

Each day for next 33 days, 14 officers and two dogs — with specialized training on tracking human remains — will sift through garbage from a dedicated area.

"It's not an easy task. It will be meticulous and it will be draining on the officers, absolutely," Saskatoon police Staff Sgt. Corey Lenius told journalists in front of a tent set up at the landfill.

"It's hard to say what condition anything that we're searching for could be in at this point, based on the time that's passed."

Police are focused on an area approximately 10 metres wide and one meter deep. Excavators spent the past couple weeks removing the layers of garbage in that spot.

Any items of interest will be brought to the tent and further examined by forensic anthropologist Ernie Walker.

(Chad Hills / CTV News)

Police are relying on garbage trucks' GPS to assist their search.

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Lenius said officers were led to the landfill "based off evidence we have collected from electronic devices seized throughout the investigation."

"At this time, I am unable to disclose specific details regarding the nature of the investigation to preserve its integrity," Lenius said.

On February 10, 2021, Saskatoon Police released video surveillance footage of a man believed to have information about Trottier's disappearance.

On June 8, 2021, Saskatoon Crime Stoppers released a sketch of the man in the surveillance video.

Trottier's family launched an interprovincial poster campaign and offered a $20,000 reward for information leading to her return.

Trottier's father said there was nothing unusual about the last day he saw his daughter.

"There was no animosity, no anger. She was fairly normal on her way out the door. And that was last day we saw her. It was pretty difficult when she didn't come home — especially for Christmas. That was tough," Paul said.

Trottier was looking at pursuing a career in veterinary medicine before she went missing.

Métis Nation–Saskatchewan (MN–S) Vice President Michelle LeClair offered "sincere thoughts and prayers" to the Trottier family.

"While a search of the landfill is deeply disturbing, MN–S is encouraged that the case has not been forgotten, as is often the situation with our missing and murdered Indigenous peoples," LeClair said.

Because the landfill has the potential to be a crime scene, police are asking people to avoid the area and have banned drone use in the airspace above the search.