Crowds of people gathered on highway overpasses along the Highway of Heroes to pay their respects to Maj. Michelle Mendes, the third female Canadian soldier to die in Afghanistan.

A casket carrying her body arrived at CFB Trenton Sunday afternoon for a repatriation ceremony before it was driven to the coroner's office in downtown Toronto.

The 30-year-old intelligence officer was found Thursday in her accommodation room at Kandahar Airfield.

The cause of Mendes's death is still unknown. The military issued a statement on Friday that said the soldier's death is under investigation, but confirmed that enemy action was ruled out as a cause.

There was a large turnout at the military base because Mendes's family is from the area.

Family members held onto one another for support as her casket was carried off the ramp and into the awaiting hearse.

Ray Hellam and his wife Debbie, made the trip from Port Hope, Ont., about an hour west of Trenton.

They told The Canadian Press they normally pay their respects to fallen soldiers along a highway overpass near their home, but felt compelled to watch this repatriation ceremony in Trenton, because Mendes has roots in the area.

The fact that Mendes did not die in combat did not take away the pain of losing another soldier, the Hellams said.

"She was over there and we appreciate her position," Ray Hellam said. "We try and treat them with the same respect, if it's combat or not combat. She's still over there, away from her family."

After the ceremony, Mendes's casket was driven along the Highway of Heroes - a 170-kilometres stretch of Highway 401 from Trenton to Toronto that was renamed to honour Canada's fallen soldiers.

According to Toronto police, the procession received permission to continue south along the Don Valley Parkway, even though the highway has been closed for maintenance all weekend.

Police officers, firefighters, paramedics and regular civilians came out, waving Canadian flags and saluting the soldier for one last time.

"It's touching to be a woman and give up all that you have back home to fight for your country," said one woman standing on the overpass.

Mendes, who hailed from a small town near Colborne, Ont., was serving her second tour of duty in Afghanistan. She was working at the headquarters of the Canadian task force at the airfield, the main base for most of the 2,700 Canadian soldiers serving in the country.

The woman was described by her colleagues as a person who strived to make life more enjoyable for those around her by making cards and baking cookies.

Mendes is the 118th Canadian soldier to die during the Afghan mission, which began in 2002.

With files from The Canadian Press and a report from CTV Toronto's Zuraidah Alman