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“There are three properties where I’m going to say: ‘Make sure you search every corner of this yard and if you hit on anything, I’m willing to dig again’,” Idsinga said.

Photo by Tyler Anderson / National Post

The three properties Idsinga has interest in don’t include the home in Oshawa, Ont. where McArthur lived with his ex-wife and children before he left them and moved to Toronto. McArthur’s former neighbours spoke to police two weeks ago and were particularly concerned with a large rock that McArthur appeared to add to the front lawn overnight more than a decade ago.

Although he can’t exclude the possibility, Idsinga said it wouldn’t sense for McArthur to have buried remains there.

“For him to overtly do something like he did at Mallory (Crescent) I think would be very difficult unless the wife and kids were aware of it,” said Idsinga, who believes McArthur acted alone. “That becomes a little more farfetched.”

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Waiting for the ground to thaw in April or May is a necessary prerequisite to the massive sweep of properties, Idsinga said. In the winter, the dogs, which are now being trained to detect when bodies are absorbed into trees, aren’t as accurate. Idsinga also doesn’t want to spend a week using heaters to thaw the soil centimetres at a time if an excavation is needed.

While the external investigations of properties are on hold, forensic teams haven’t left McArthur’s apartment in Thorncliffe Park since the day after his arrest. In comparison, they wrapped up the investigation of the Mallory Crescent home — often described as ground zero — in three-and-a-half weeks. It took investigators weeks to make it into McArthur’s bedroom, taping off every surface of the apartment, inch-by-inch until they finally arrived in the room where they expect to find the bulk of their evidence.