Article content

PETAWAWA, Ont. — Trinity Poil’s family celebrated her 17th birthday on Thursday without her.

There was a cake. Her present was neatly wrapped. But for six weeks now, there hasn’t been a trace of Trinity.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or The mysterious disappearance of Trinity Poil Back to video

“Hopefully we can celebrate with her if she comes home tonight or tomorrow,” said Trinity’s mother, Tammy Poil. “Or the next minute. Or the next hour….”

“I don’t sleep a lot any more,” said her stepfather, Patrick Reddick, a corporal in the 2nd Service Battalion at Garrison Petawawa. “I’m waking up to every little sound, hoping the door will open and she’ll just walk in.”

The last sign of Trinity was the trail of footprints she left in the heaviest snowfall of the winter, steps that led down the driveway, then were swept away by a passing snowplow.

Trinity, who stands 6-1 and weighs 240 lbs, had simply vanished.

“We have gone through every second of every minute of that day trying to find any kind of logic as to why she would leave,” Tammy said. There had been no arguments. Patrick and Trinity had spent the night before playing video games in the basement. She seemed herself, with no sign of unhappiness or worry.