A firearms search of the B.C. farm of Robert William Pickton turned up personal property belonging to one of Vancouver's missing women, an RCMP officer has told jurors at Pickton's murder trial.

Const. Nathan Wells testified Wednesday that he had been given a tip by a paid informant about three guns — a fully automatic pistol and two other handguns — he had seen hidden on Pickton's pig farm in Port Coquitlam.

Wells said that when he did a search on Pickton in the police computer system, he found a note that anyone looking at Pickton should contact two Vancouver city police officers. They were involved with the missing women's task force, and had already identified him as a person of interest.

So the two officers went along with Wells on the search of the farm, on Feb. 5, 2002, nearly three weeks before Pickton was charged with two counts of first-degree murder, court heard.
 
Police used a battering ram to break down the front door of Pickton's trailer, which they began searching after handcuffing him.

Wells said they found a round from a .22-calibre gun in a desk drawer and a sports bag. Inside the sports bag was an inhaler, with Serena Abotsway's name on it, he said.

One of the members on the missing women's task force knew she was one of the women who had disappeared from Vancouver's Downtown Eastside, and the search was shut down for the night.

Just days later, police began a massive search of the Pickton property, looking for evidence related to dozens of missing women. That search lasted almost two years.

Pickton is on trial in B.C. Supreme Court in New Westminster, accused of the murders of six of Vancouver's missing women, including Abotsway.

He also faces another 20 counts of first-degree murder that will be dealt with in a separate trial.