The Saskatoon Police Service is extending the deadline for its search of Saskatoon’s landfill in relation to the Mackenzie Lee Trottier missing persons investigation.
The initial conclusion date was set for Monday but has been pushed to an undetermined date.
Police said they have searched a 930-cubic-metre area at the landfill for the past 31 days for evidence related to Trottier’s disappearance.
SPS said an update will be given once the search has been concluded.
Trottier was last seen on Dec. 21, 2020, leaving her home in the 300 block of Trent Crescent.
The investigation has been ongoing ever since, but Saskatoon police said new evidence spurred the decision to search the landfill.
Resources from Saskatoon police, as well as RCMP, Calgary police and forensic anthropologist Ernie Walker, have been used in the search.
SPS Staff Sgt. Corey Lenius gave more details about the investigation when it first began on May 1, adding this was a calculated search.
“This calculation is based off evidence we’ve collected from electronic devices seized across the investigation,” Lenius said.
Lenius said safety is paramount when it comes to this search, and consultation has been done with hazmat co-ordinators from the Saskatoon Fire Department.
He said this area has been deemed a no-fly zone by Transportation Canada, adding that they ask people to respect the sensitivity of this search.
“There will be a 1,000-foot ceiling and a two-mile radius from this location.”
He said each day 14 officers and two dogs will be assigned to the search, adding that it will be a rotation with new people coming in.
When asked what the dogs were trained for, Lenius said human recovery.
Police said that if the search extends to the full 33 days, an estimated $200,000 will be used to cover both staffing and equipment.
— with files from Gates Guarin and Jeanelle Mandes