The search at the Brady Road Landfill for the remains of Tanya Nepinak got underway Wednesday.
It was scheduled to begin Tuesday, but was delayed due to weather.
Police said searchers will concentrate on a focused area that was identified by aboriginal elders in a ceremony at the landfill.
The search for Nepinak was previously delayed because the initial area identified was deemed too large to manage.
A search team made up of nine members of the forensic identification unit began taking material from the excavation site and placing it in another location for closer examination.
The search is expected to take between three and five days.
Nepinak went missing in September 2011. Suspected serial killer Shawn Lamb has been charged with second-degree murder for Nepinak's death and deaths of two other women.
