After an exhaustive 93-day search of the Saskatoon landfill, police have located the remains of MacKenzie Trottier.
Trottier went missing in December 2020 with questions of her disappearance lingering for years.
This past May, the Saskatoon Police Service began a search of the city’s landfill looking for evidence of her disappearance.
At a press conference at the police service’s headquarters on Tuesday morning police announced they had found Trottier’s remains.
Saskatoon Police Chief Cam McBride announced the finding of the search with additional details provided by Staff Sergeant Corey Lenius.
Police say partial remains were found during the search on July 30, which lead searchers to eventually finding the rest of the remains on August 1.
These remains were identified as MacKenzie Trottier’s through dental records.
An autopsy took place in the days after Trottier’s body was found, however, her cause of death was deemed undetermined.
Suspect identified
Police did say they had identified a suspect in relation to her death and it was evidence on this person’s phone that lead police to conduct a search of the landfill.
According to police, the suspect died in December 2023 as a result of a drug overdose.
Police say they will not identify the individual because he died before charges could be laid.
However, they did identify him as a man who was known to Trottier and his residence was her last known location.
Police say their investigation into the matter has concluded and Saskatchewan’s Coroners Service will take over the investigation moving forward.
Forensic Pathologist provides his perspective
Well known forensic pathologist Ernie Walker, a founder of Wanuskewin Heritage Park, helped the Saskatoon Police Service in the landfill search.
He addressed the press conference from a technical side on the broad scale of the search.
Walker admitted he was skeptical when he was first asked to help in the landfill search.
“These types of landfill searches are not commonly successful,” he said.
However, when he saw the operation that was to be undertaken he knew there would be a better chance of success.
Walker outlined the operation, which including combing through thousands of bone fragments to find human remains.
“This is one of the best examples of a large scale search I have been involved with in 40 years,” he stated.
(Members of the Trottier family and members of the Saskatoon Police Service who helped in the search observe Tuesday morning’s press conference. Photo by Joel Willick.)
Family speaks out
In a brief address, MacKenzie Trottier’s father Paul Trottier addressed the press conference.
“This is a difficult time,” he said. “The past 93 days in particular have been difficult, but today we have the answers we are looking for… MacKenzie is home”
Trottier thanked the community for the support over the past few years and thanked the Saskatoon Police Service for pursuing answers “without hesitation.”
In the meantime, Police Chief Cam McBride was asked about the scope and cost of the search.
McBride says it was difficult to determine the size of the search, but believes more than 950 cubic metres were searched.
As for the cost, McBride says the police’s finance team is still working through all the details, but his estimates put the cost of the landfill search around $1.5 million.
He says they plan to reach out to provincial and federal partners for help in the funding.