John Schmied

Dump searched for murder victim

A bulldozer and a claw excavator tore the top off a football field-sized section of the Brock West Landfill site.

Homicide Det.-Sgt. Tony Warr said Baxter's body is believed entombed in up to eight tonnes of garbage.

Police believe Baxter, 26, a transsexual callgirl, was put in a North York dumpster shortly after being murdered Dec. 8 -- the day she disappeared -- and the dumpster's contents emptied at the landfill within three days.

Police identification officers and Metro Works employees, using the dumping schedules from the last month, identified the target area yesterday and began digging.

Warr said investigators rented the heavy machinery for a month at $15,000, but added police will continue digging until they find the body.

Patrick Daniel Johnson, 23, of Wynford Heights Cres., North York, was arrested by homicide officers Jan 8.

The Don Jail guard is scheduled to appear in North York court again this morning on a charge of first-degree murder.

Baxter was last seen leaving a friend's Mississauga home at 3 a.m. Jan. 8 after receiving a call on her pager.