The Hunt For Trina

In January 2021, 48 year old Trina Hunt vanished from her quiet Port Moody neighbourhood. Two months later, her remains are discovered near Hope, BC. For years, her family and community pushed for justice, but answers never came, Now, four years later, a charge has finally been laid-but it’s not the charge anyone expected. 

MissingTrinaHunt

Husband charged with ‘indignity to human remains’ 4 years after body found near Hope | Chilliwack Progress

The former Port Moody home of Trina Hunt has new owners - Vancouver Is Awesome

Trina Hunt’s husband’s trial won’t start until October 2027 - BC | Globalnews.ca

Trina Hunt’s husband charged with indignity to human remains - BC | Globalnews.ca

Trina Hunt - Information about the seeking of Justice for the Murder of Trina Hunt - 38 Hawthorn Drive, Port Moody

Rally organized in honour of Trina Hunt following husband’s criminal charge – CTVNews

Trina Hunt murder: Husband charged

Trina Hunt's husband charged with indignity to human remains | Vancouver Sun

Trial for Trina Hunt's husband set for 2027

Trial for Iain Hunt to be judge alone - Freshet News

Why the Iain Hunt Trial Delay Does Not Automatically Violate Canada’s 18 Month Rule – Dhanu Dhaliwal Law Group (DDLaw)

IHIT speaks to the media on charges laid in connection to Trina Hunt’s death | Watch News Videos Online

‘It just seemed

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Hey everyone, welcome to Valley of Secrets. I'm your host, Nikki Ruth. Today's story takes us to January 18th, 2021, in Port Moody, British Columbia. A man calls police and reports his wife missing. He had left early that morning for work, and when he returned home, she was gone. Two months later, far from Port Moody, BC, human remains are found. Four years pass, the community waits, her family begs for answers, and finally, just last year, a charge is laid. But it's not what anyone expected. This is the story of Trina Hunt. Ian Hunt pulls up to his home in the Heritage Mountain neighborhood of Port Moody. Nothing seems out of place, at least not at first. He walks up to the front door and lets himself in. But right away, something feels off. The door is unlocked. Inside, everything looks normal. Too normal. Trina's wallet, keys, and her phone are all sitting right there, untouched. But Trina, she's nowhere. He checks the garage and her car is still sitting there. So wherever she is, she didn't drive. And then just 30 minutes later, at 5 p.m., a call comes into the police department. Trina Hunt is missing. Trina June Ibbett was born on June 6, 1972, to Charles and Diana. She grew up alongside her brother Brad, who describes her as always having a knack for making people feel loved and special. Trina was remembered for her infectious laugh, love for laughter, and a genuine caring nature. She loved to bake her famous candy cane brownies every Christmas. And she enjoyed her favorite glass of white wine here and then as well. Small details, but they matter because they remind us of who Trina was. At Shaw Communications, she built a career, and in 2019, she achieved early retirement, something most of us could only dream of. It was her chance to spend more time on family, friends, and things that she loved. Trina married her high school sweetheart, Ian Hunt, whom she started dating in grade 12. Over time, they built a life together in the Heritage Mountain neighborhood of Port Moody. They were a storybook couple that seemed unshakable. But if true crime teaches us anything, it's that appearances don't always tell the whole story. Tucked at the eastern end of Barard Inlet, Port Moody is often called the City of Arts. It's a quiet suburban community surrounded by forested mountains and ocean water. Families move here for the safety, the schools, the trails that cut through the trees. It's the kind of place where people know their neighbors and go for walks along the waterfront without thinking twice. So when Trina vanished here, it rattled the community to its core because this wasn't the kind of place where people just disappeared. For police, that meant one thing. The answers had to be hidden in the days leading up to her disappearance. It's January 2021. The world was still in the grip of COVID-19 pandemic. I know. The infamous C-word that we all want to forget about. I get it. Vaccines were just beginning to roll out in Canada at this point. Masks, distancing, daily press conferences, they were part of everyday life. Many people were working from home, isolated from friends, and starved for connection. So while we talk about Trina's last days, we have to remember that backdrop. According to City News Vancouver, Trina's last confirmed sighting was on January 14th, where she was seen on CCTV cameras outrunning errands. The next day, Trina was texting with a friend from Ontario, making plans for a virtual cocktail date that weekend. Again, very 2021. But unfortunately that plan would never happen. According to her husband Ian, on Saturday, January 16th, the couple went on a spontaneous road trip to Hope, BC. Now, if you've ever been out that way, you know Hope sits right where the Fraser and Cocahala rivers meet, surrounded by steep, jagged mountains. It's a gateway town where highways split off into the interior or wind through deep canyon roads to the Okanagan area. It's beautiful, but it's also remote. The forests are dense, the rivers move fast, and once you're out there, it can feel like the wilderness just goes on forever. This place is also known as the biggest dumping ground for bodies. According to Ian, they were heading to a campground they used to visit in their 20s. But here's where things start to raise questions. That would mean driving about an hour and a half to two hours, depending on traffic, from their home in Port Moody to a campground that would have been closed. One, because it's January and cold, two, because it was the middle of a pandemic. So they would drive all that way just to turn around and drive all the way back home. No stops. At least that's what Ayn had said. But there's been a lot of online chatter about that timeline. Some people have claimed that Ian was seen that day at the Flying J Travel Center, which is a well-known truck stop along Highway One with gas, food, rest areas, and even showers. Now, to be clear, that's never been publicly confirmed, but it's one of those details that continues to circulate and add to the questions. There's also the choice of vehicle that he used for that day. Ian says they took his BMW sedan instead of Trina's Mercedes SUV, which had all-wheel drive. Something that you would expect to use in winter conditions, especially on those kinds of roads. So that raises suspicions. It was reported that they did take road trips sometimes, especially during the pandemic. A lot of people did. It was one of those ways to get out of the house and keep ourselves sane. But driving out to Hope in winter conditions in that car, it just didn't feel like something Trina would normally do. At least not to the people who knew her best. That same afternoon, two messages were sent from Trina's phone from an old co-worker, but they went unanswered that day. Ian later said they returned home that evening, spent the night watching a movie, and then went to bed. And then comes Sunday, January 17th, a day where a lot in the timeline is unclear. On Trinahunt.com, Ian was described as being vague when speaking with Trina's family about what happened that day. But at 4 33 p.m., Trina's co-worker finally received a reply stating, quote, too funny. Delayed response because I'm trying a digital detox this weekend. Haven't touched the phone all weekend. End quote. The coworker responded, good for you. Must be so much harder stuck at home. And then later at 7 19 p.m., another message is sent from Trina's phone saying one word. Amen. According to Global News, her family immediately questioned if these texts were from Trina. The tone, the lack of her usual emojis, a lack of Trina's warm personal touch, it just didn't sound like her. Plus, they state that Trina never used the phrase amen in any of her previous texts. Later that night, Ayn admits that he didn't set the house alarm before bed. He said he didn't want the beeping sound in the morning to wake Trina before he left early for work. But her family finds this explanation strange. Trina was known to be meticulous about security. She always locked up, always set the alarm. And the alarm panel itself? It wasn't even in the bedroom. It was in the hall outside of the master bedroom and had only made two faint beeps, hardly enough to wake someone from their sleep. On January 18th, the day Trina disappeared, I am reports that he left the house around 6 a.m. for work. He was the CEO of Clean Tech Services Group, which was a Richmond-based janitorial company he had led since 2005. A role that had even earned him praise for his community involvement. During the day, there was no activity on Trina's phone or laptop. And at 1 p.m. she missed a phone appointment, which was extremely unusual for her. Ian gets home that night at 4:30 p.m. and reports Trina missing at 5 p.m. From the moment that that call came in, Port Moody police treat it seriously and they launch a full response. Police move quickly. They start knocking on doors throughout the Heritage Mountain neighborhood, and speaking with neighbors, asking questions, and collecting security footage from nearby homes. Search and rescue teams join in, along with community volunteers and Trina's family. Helicopters circle overhead, the sound echoing through the trees. And on the ground, search dogs move through the brush, noses low, tracking for even the faintest trace of her scent. It was a massive effort. In those early days, the thinking was maybe Trina had gone for a walk or had gotten lost, or possibly, though less likely, that she had chosen to leave on her own. But according to her family, that didn't make any sense. There were no known mental health struggles, no financial issues, and no signs of trouble in her marriage, at least that anyone was aware of. Nothing that would point to her just walking away from her light. As the search continued, a kind of command center formed right in the neighborhood. A tent was set up in the local driveway with tables covered in donations, food, water, hand sanitizer, everything people might need while searching. Posters of Trina were everywhere, with her picture of her beautiful smile with long brown hair and big eyes at the center. She was described as 5'4, around 120 pounds, and believed to be wearing a black North Face jacket with a green collar, along with pink and purple shoes. Her family publicly thanked the volunteers and the people who showed up day after day hoping to bring her home. But then, just a few days later, on January 21st, the official ground search was called off by the Port Moody Police Department. But behind the scenes, search and rescue didn't stop. They just kept going quietly. On February 17th, the Port Moody Police issued a news release stating, quote, numerous investigative resources have been utilized in our search for Trina, including RCMP Air Services, Coquitlam Search and Rescue, the Vancouver Police Marine Unit, and the Lower Mainland Integrated Police Dog Service. We have also contacted our partners at the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team, otherwise known as IHIT, as part of that team's mandate is to investigate suspicious missing cases where foul play is suspected. At this time, evidence indicates that the missing person case does not meet IHIT's mandate, end quote. Then the following day, Port Moody police chief Flugel says in an interview with News 1130 that, quote, we've come to the conclusion that IHIT can no longer continue to assist us because we don't have any evidence of foul play. Our minds are open absolutely to all possibilities. And we did have a lot of people on this case over the last month. We called out our major crime section initially the very first day. We believed it was serious enough to call out our higher trained detectives. I am confident that we are going to make some inroads. Trina's family continued to put her name out into the public. On February 28th, a GoFundMe campaign launched. More than$22,000 was raised almost immediately, proving that the community wanted to help. The very next day, her loved ones gathered on a roadside in Port Moody. It was cold, but they're out there holding banners, waving at cars, hoping to catch someone's attention. Drivers honk, strangers wave back, and I can imagine the mix of emotions in that moment. Grief, hope, desperation, but all in solidarity. People who didn't even know Trina still showed up in the midst of a pandemic because her story mattered. But not everyone was there. Ian was noticeably absent. Instead, a family spokesperson read a statement on his behalf. According to Global News, he says, quote, the past six weeks since Trina's disappearance have been a devastating and incredibly difficult time for me and everyone who knows my wife. I feel the same frustration and incomprehension that her parents, family, and friends share, and not knowing what has happened to Trina. I am confident the police are doing all they can to solve this case, and I am hopeful that they will bring Trina home. End quote. The fact that he wasn't there in person, not at the rally, not at the searches, not at the vigil later held in her honor, it didn't go unnoticed. And for many, it planted even more unease. Then on March 10th, 2021, news comes that Ian has quietly been terminated from his CEO position for unknown reasons. Ian told people he was taking a quote sabbatical. However, all mention of him is scrubbed from the company's website and social channels, which doesn't sound like a sabbatical to me. On March 29th, 2021, at 10 a.m., everything changed. As news spread that human remains had been found near Hope BC, but it would take weeks for police to identify who they belonged to. On March 31st, a second set of human remains were found in Hope, and on April 6th, another set of human remains were found, but this time in Mission BC. By this time, Ian had left his home and had moved in with his parents in none other than Mission BC. Now, I'm not saying these cases are connected. More like a coincidence, but interesting information nonetheless. News spread quickly about the three sets of human remains, and at the time, there were actually a few missing people reported around the lower mainland. One of them was Shailene Bell. She had been reported missing on January 31, 2021 in Chilliwac, and her body was found floating in the Fraser River near Coquitlam on June 2nd, the same year. Another missing person was April Parisian. She was reported missing in early April that year, and sadly still has not been found. Jordan Naderer had also been reported missing on October 13, 2020, after he didn't show up for Thanksgiving dinner. His car was found at Lightning Lake Deus area of Manning Park, and his remains were later found on July 7, 2021, in Manning Park. But at the time, all of these families were holding out hope that one of these remains could be their loved one, while also fearing that it could be their puffed one. What a mix of emotions that they must have been feeling in those moments. On April 18th, Trina's family and close friends held a candlelight vigil for her at Rocky Point in Port Moody. Ian was not in attendance. There's a YouTube video of it in my source list for those that are interested in watching it. It is a bit hard to hear, but it was an amazing tribute to Trina nonetheless. Then on May 1st, 2021, news came that every parent fears. The Royal Canadian Mountain Police confirmed that the first set of remains found in Silver Creek near Hope was 48-year-old Trina Hunt. The third set found in mission belonged to a 23-year-old from Saskatchewan named Brandon Sigbo. The second set of remains I couldn't find any information on. But this is the moment that everything shifted in this investigation. What began as a missing person's case now became a homicide, and I hit takes over immediately. In the weeks that follow, Trina's family refuses to let her case fade. On June 1st, they announce our$50,000 reward for any information that could bring answers. But here's what catches people's attention. Neither Ian nor his family contributed to the fund. Not even a dollar. Instead, it's Trina's parents, Charles and Diana, along with her brother Brad and his wife Jen who put up the money. They're the ones carrying the weight, determined to keep the search for justice alive. And I can't help but think, if it were your spouse who vanished, wouldn't you be the first in line to add to that reward? Wouldn't you want every possible lead to come forward? Posters started going up again, but this time, they don't just show Trina's smiling face. They show photos of both her and Ian, along with images of their cars. On the posters, IHID issues a public appeal to hunters, travelers, residents, and visitors in the Hope area, asking anyone who was there between January 16th and 18th to check their dash cams, trail cameras, and security systems for any sign of Trina or of Ian. It's a very public signal that investigators are looking at every angle, including those closest to her. Due to the case now being a homicide, Port Moody police conduct simultaneous search warrants at Trina's home and Ayan's parents' home, where he had been residing for much of the time since Trina disappeared. Both of their vehicles are seized. Forensic teams move in and begin scanning the properties with advanced 3D technology. According to Global News and Tri-City News, this kind of forensic 3D scanning allows investigators to capture a perfect digital replica of a home. Every wall, every mark, every detail frozen in time. It's not a tool that they use lightly. You bring that level of tech in when you believe even the smallest trace could matter. Another reality point here is police almost always start closest to home in homicide cases. Spouses and partners are scrutinized first, and there's a reason for that. According to Statistics Canada, nearly two-thirds, 66% of women killed in this country, are murdered by an intimate partner. In 2020 alone, almost half of female homicide victims were killed by somebody they trusted most, often a spouse. So when investigators focus on Ian, it isn't unusual, it's procedure, and it's where the numbers are pointing. Almost a year passes, then on June 3rd, 2022, Ian Hunt is arrested at 38 Hawthorne Drive at 4 p.m. Neighbors watch from their windows and the news spreads instantly. For Trina's family and for the community, it feels like the moment everyone has been waiting for. Finally, this is it. Maybe justice is about to begin. But then the very next day, I is released with no charges laid. Can you imagine the whiplash? To go from hope of an arrest to the devastation of release in just 24 hours? It's the kind of roller coaster no family should have to endure. And once again, Trina's family is left standing in limbo. Desperate for Trina's killer to be brought to justice, her family renews the$50,000 reward, asking for any information that could lead to the arrest or laying of charges on the individual responsible. Then in October 2022, Ion Hunt puts up his shared home with Trina for$2.38 million and sold it for$1.925 million in May 2023. The listing sparked outrage among the social media community, as Trina's murder still remains unsolved. Due to this and the constant media attention, the new owners requested a change of address. I can understand why they would want this. But then again, why would you move into a house where someone went missing and the case is still not solved? In order to change the address, the new homeowners were required to pay a$625 fee, which they actually asked the city to waive and were denied. On February 4th, 2025, breaking news emerges. A charge has finally been laid in the case, but it was not the outcome the family or the community had been hoping for. Law enforcement publicly confirmed that Ian Hunt have been charged with indignity to human remains. In Canadian law, an indignity to human remains charge means that someone is accused of improperly interfering with, disposing of, or treating a dead body in a way that is disrespectful, offensive, or intended to conceal the cause of death. It does not require proof that the person caused the death, only that they mishandled the body afterward. The maximum penalty of this charge in Canada is only five years in prison. Now, there's something about this case that has caused a lot of confusion, not just for Trina's family, but for people following the story across Canada. Even though Trina's remains were discovered, no murder charge has been laid, and investigators have never publicly confirmed her exact cause of death. And for a lot of people, that raises an obvious question. How can someone be charged with interfering with human remains, but not with their murder? The answer comes down to how the law works in Canada. In a criminal trial, prosecutors have to prove every charge beyond a reasonable doubt. That's the highest legal standard there is. So if investigators cannot clearly prove how someone died, or if the evidence doesn't meet the threshold required to prove homicide in court, the crown can't simply lay a murder charge and hope it sticks. Instead, they may pursue other charges that the evidence does support. And that's where the charge against Ion Hunt comes in. The offense of indignity to human remains focuses specifically on what happened to her body after death. Now there has been some speculation out there about what may have happened to Trina's body. I did come across one article suggesting that her body may have been burned, but again, that hasn't been proven or confirmed publicly. It's also possible that her body was simply left or dumped in a remote area, and that alone could be enough to meet the threshold for this type of charge. I'm not a lawyer, so I can't really know that for sure, but it does make me wonder. But it also makes us wonder how were police able to move forward with this specific charge? What evidence do they have that led them there? My thoughts are that they probably have Ion on camera disposing Trina's body. But obviously don't have camera footage of the killing itself. And without that proof, we're still left with so many unanswered questions about what actually happened to Trina. Police know more than they're sharing. They almost always do. The cause of death, the condition of her remains, the evidence collected in those searches, all of it is being held back, waiting for the courtroom. And while we don't know the answer now, I believe that we will. The truth will come out in court. And when it does, I hope the picture of what really happened to Trina will finally be clear. Her family deserves that. Now speaking of court, Ian's first court date was set for March 2025. Then it was postponed to April, then June, July, September, October, November, January 2026, February 2026. And now the trial is set by Judge Alone in October 2027. 2027. That is two and a half years after he was initially charged, which has caused a lot of frustration and discussion among Trina's family, friends, and the public who want justice for Trina. The question is why? Many Canadians have heard about the 18-month rule set out by the Supreme Court of Canada after a decision known as R versus Jordan. That ruling created general limits on how long criminal cases should take to reach trial. But the reality is that rule isn't just as simple. Legal experts say certain periods of delay don't count toward that timeline. For example, if the defense requests more time to prepare or scheduling conflicts delay proceedings, those months are often excluded from the calculation. In other words, a case can appear to go beyond the 18-month guideline while still being considered legally acceptable. And cases like this one are rarely simple. The investigation into Trina Hunt has involved years of searches, forensic analysis, evidence collection, and legal proceedings. Court records show that there have actually been 29 court appearances connected to this case, which means that for Trina's family, the wait for answers is not over yet. As for Ian, he has been free to live his life since Trina's death. There has been speculation that he moved to the interior of BC for a time, but now it is believed he lives near Sasquatch Mountain between Mission and Agassiz, BC. There was also speculation and a bunch of online chatter that Ian was having an affair with a coworker from Clean Tech, which could be a motive for murder. I will state that none of this has been publicly confirmed. This is just speculation and online chatter. That's it. Before we end today's episode, I want to take a moment to bring the focus back to the person at the center of the story, Trina Junhat. Because it's easy in cases like this to get caught up in the investigation, the court dates, the legal terms, and the unanswered questions. But behind all of that was a real woman whose life mattered deeply to the people around her. She has made all of us here in BC fall in love with her. When we see that smiling face, we want justice for Trina. She wasn't just a name and a headline. She was a daughter who was loved by her parents, a sister who meant the world to her brother, a friend who people say had a way of making everyone feel welcome. She had her traditions, like baking her candy cane brownies or enjoying wine with her friends. And after years of hard work, she had finally reached a point in life where she could slow down and enjoy it. And that future was taken away from her. What happened to Trina is still not fully known. There are questions that remain unanswered and a family that is still waiting for the truth. But one thing that is clear is that the people who loved her refuse to let her be forgotten. They continue to show up. They wear purple ribbons, which was her favorite color, and they hold signs and speak her name, making sure she's not forgotten. They continue to push for justice. And until the full truth comes out, her family and her community will keep holding on to hope that one day they will finally get the answers they deserve. If you know anything that could help bring answers in Trina Hunt's case, please call the IHIT Tipline at 1-877-551-4448. Thanks for tuning in to Valley of Secrets. Join me next week for the next episode. If you enjoy the podcast, please consider leaving a five-star review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. It really helps get the word out. And if you'd like to support the show, you can contribute a small monthly donation. The link is in my bio on social media or in the show notes. Every little bit helps and is appreciated. You can also find photos and additional content from every case on Instagram and Facebook at Valley of Secrets Podcast. Stay safe, stay aware, and stay curious.