In the opening of the second week of testimony at the Douglas Garland murder trial, an RCMP sergeant told the court that they were told to prepare for a possible 'hostage rescue' at an Airdrie farm in July 2014.
Garland, 56, is charged with three counts of first-degree murder in connection with the deaths of Alvin and Kathy Liknes and their grandson Nathan O’Brien.
During Monday's proceedings, the court heard from RCMP Sgt. Troy Switzer, a tactical paramedic with the service.
Switzer testified that he was paged on July 4, 2014, to perform a hostage rescue at a rural property near Airdrie. He was told that it was involving possibly two to three people.
At that time, the Liknes disappearance was still being considered as a missing persons case and Switzer told the court that they hoped to find the trio alive.
He participated in the search of the farm's outbuildings and came across a black bag.
"[It] caught my attention right away. It was new," Switzer told the court, adding that it wasn't covered in dust in the way everything else was.
Inside the bag, Switzer found two pairs of handcuffs, an eight to 10 inch hunting knife and a leather-wrapped club.
He said that in another part of the farm, he saw a burn barrel that was 'hot and actively burning'.
Switzer also told the court that he was at the location for another few hours with a number of other officers, but didn't find any bodies.
The court then heard from RCMP Sgt. Tim Walker, who worked with the forensic identification section.
Walker told the court that he first arrived at the Garland home on July 5 and was assigned to search the outbuildings on the property.
He said that he found a burn barrel still smoking and used a garden hose to put it out.
Once the ashes had cooled, teams sifted through the barrel's contents and found bones, possibly a tooth and a pair of glasses, Walker said.
He also told the court that they used a chemical spray inside one of the buildings to help reveal bloodstains and did indeed find traces of blood inside a building.
A Calgary police dog which search the property where accused triple murderer Douglas Garland lived indicated finding human remains.
Sully’s handlers testified MOnday afternoon they search the property in July 2014 just days after Nathan O’Brien and his grandparents disappeared.
Constable Darcy Williams said the cadaver dog alerted him to finding something near the burn barrel and wood chipper at the Garland farm.
More evidence collected on the Garland farm will be presented Tuesday.
During the first week of proceedings, the court heard from Nathan’s mother Jennifer O’Brien who was the first person to discover the scene at the Liknes’ Parkhill home, first responders, lock experts and homicide detectives.
The Crown alleges that Garland killed Alvin and Kathy Liknes and five-year-old Nathan over a petty grudge.
Their bodies have never been recovered.
