As open water started to show on Keller Lake in Maplewood on Saturday, about two dozen volunteers and family members navigated ice that was dangerously thin in spots as they continued the search for Kira Trevino's body.
Drilling holes and cutting up the ice with saws and shovels, they continued to look for evidence of Trevino, 30, who has been missing for more than five weeks.
Led by Mike Teige, Trevino's second cousin, they meticulously tore up Keller Lake — the site both police and community searches have focused on after a witness reportedly saw two men carrying what appeared to be a person wrapped up in something the day after Trevino went missing. Since then, her family also found a plastic bag with her bloody clothes near the lake.
Saturday's search, like more than a dozen others, turned up empty. But Teige vowed to be back until Trevino's body is found to bring closure to the family and justice as her husband, Jeffery Trevino, awaits a trial for second-degree murder charges.
The rising temperatures Saturday were already starting to expose open water across Keller Lake, prompting warnings elsewhere to stay off the ice. On Friday, the Hennepin County Sheriff's Office issued a warning to stay off area lakes due to open water.
KELLY SMITH
