Saskatoon police to search landfill after finding new evidence in disappearance

Police in Saskatoon will begin searching the city’s landfill on May 1 as officers continue to investigate the 2020 disappearance of Mackenzie Lee Trottier.

According to police, the search was prompted by new evidence discovered during the investigation last year.

Deputy Police Chief Cam McBride said they will have the help of the RCMP and Calgary Police Service during the search.

“They have specifically trained dogs that are able to assist us in this type of search,” he said.

McBride said that over the course of the investigation, a number of devices were seized that helped lead police to this location.

“Extraction of information from those devices has led us to the point where we are confident in the location,” said McBride.

Trottier was last seen on Dec. 21, 2020. Since then, police said investigators have been following leads and working with the Trottier family to keep the public aware of the case. Police also released video surveillance related to the case, and a sketch of a person of interest.

“In late 2023 a substantial amount of data was collected which identified a specific area of the landfill, located at 42 Valley Road, which may contain evidence in the investigation,” the police service said in a statement.

“The search will utilize resources from the SPS along with dogs from RCMP E Division and the Calgary Police Service. The teams will also be consulting with forensic anthropologist Dr. Ernie Walker.”

The area is around 930 square metres in size, police said, and 33 days have been set aside for the search. Regular updates will be provided as the search efforts progress, police noted.

As for what the SPS is hoping to find during the search, McBride said there are multiple different outcomes.

“On one hand, we would like to find nothing and then we’ll continue looking,” he said. “On the other hand, we may find her and then we’ll proceed down the next course of the investigation.”

The data that led the SPS to conduct the search was discovered in late 2023. McBride said after talking with multiple experts, police decided now would be the best time to start the search.

“We wanted to ensure that we could keep the site secured and its integrity intact,” said McBride.

Mackenzie’s dad Paul Trottier said the support he and his family have received over this time means everything to them.

“Early on it was an all-out effort, but that never stopped,” he said. “Our community is still there. They’re still supporting us.”

Trottier said that in return, the family members seek and offer support where they can in their community.

As the search continues, Trottier asks for continued community support.