A Dartmouth man has been charged with first-degree murder in the case of a woman that disappeared from the Annapolis Valley more than a decade ago.

Police say the victim’s common-law partner, 45-year-old Albert Baird, was arrested in connection with the case Wednesday afternoon.

Rhonda Wilson, a mother of three, was last seen on Aug. 7, 2002 when she left her Kentville home to go for a walk.

Baird reported her missing to police three days later, on August 10.

In 2010, the Nova Scotia government added her case to the province’s Major Unsolved Crimes Program, which offers $150,000 for information that leads to a conviction.

While no tips from the program led to Baird’s arrest, police say they did receive numerous phone calls as a result of the program.

However, they won’t say what information led to the break in the case.

“When you have investigators working on a case for so many years, it speaks to their diligence, hard work and dedication to never forgetting about these missing persons cases,” says RCMP Sgt. Alain LeBlanc.

Police search property in Sheffield Mills

Police spent Wednesday and Thursday searching an abandoned farm in Sheffield Mills, about 12 kilometres from where Wilson was last seen 11 years ago.

They have yet to find her remains.

“I think it’s horrible. I think it’s a shame,” says Sheffield Mills resident Charlotte Lightfoot.

“Kind of shocked after I did find out that it happened more or less in my backyard,” says neighbor Donna Dykens.

Area residents say there are two large cement holding tanks on the property which were once used for animal waste. They say they have been drained in recent years.

“They were used years ago. They haven’t been used in years, just a 12-foot cement pit,” says neighbor Jason Bennett.

Baird makes brief court appearance

Baird, who has a long criminal record, although mainly for thefts, made a brief appearance in Kentville provincial court Thursday afternoon.

He has been remanded in custody until his next court appearance on June 24.

Friends close to the victim also appeared in court. They confirmed to CTV News that Wilson had been living with Baird before she disappeared.

Baird and Wilson also had two children, a set of twins, together.

They have been taken into the custody of Family Services.

With files from CTV Atlantic's Kelland Sundahl