NINE MONTHS GONE — STILL NO TRACE In a quiet corner of Nova Scotia, the disappearance of young Lilly and Jack Sullivan has become a chilling mystery that won’t let go. Authorities insist they’re “working tirelessly,” yet with each passing day, the silence only deepens—and so do the doubts. Beneath the calm surface of Pictou County, something feels off… and what’s being uncovered may be far more disturbing than anyone expected. Read more
In the quiet, wooded backroads of Lansdowne Station, Nova Scotia, where thick forests swallow the horizon and rural life moves at a slower pace, a family’s worst nightmare unfolded on the morning of May 2, 2025.
Six-year-old Lilly Sullivan, with her infectious smile and flowing brown hair, and her four-year-old brother Jack, a cheeky little boy with sparkling eyes and a love for dinosaur boots, simply vanished from their home on Gairloch Road.
What started as a frantic 911 call from their mother has morphed into one of Canada’s most baffling and heart-wrenching missing persons cases — a saga that has gripped the nation, sparked massive searches, unleashed family tensions, and left investigators admitting it’s ‘extremely rare’ in their decades of experience.
Now, as Canada marked National Missing Persons Day earlier this year, the Nova Scotia RCMP issued a solemn update: they are still ‘working tirelessly’ to uncover what happened to the Sullivan siblings.
Staff Sgt. Rob McCamon, officer in charge of major crime and behavioural sciences, didn’t mince words in the force’s news release.
“Our team remains fully committed to establishing the circumstances of what happened to Lilly and Jack,” he said. “We’re pursuing every lead, applying every resource, and still working tirelessly to move this file forward.”
To date, investigators have sifted through a staggering 1,111 tips from the public and are actively engaged in more than 1,400 investigative tasks. Yet, nearly 11 months later — with spring 2026 now upon us — the children remain missing, and the case refuses to yield its secrets.
The ordinary morning that turned into horror
It was a seemingly normal start to the day in the rural Pictou County property, a modest home surrounded by dense woods, steep banks, and thick brush that makes even seasoned locals wary.
Lilly and Jack lived there with their mother, Malehya Brooks-Murray, their stepfather Daniel Martell, and their baby sister Meadow.
The night before, on May 1, the family had been out in nearby New Glasgow. Surveillance footage captured the children happily shopping with their parents at a Dollarama store around 2:25 p.m. — Lilly in her pink outfit, Jack full of energy in his little red shirt.
Brooks-Murray later told police she put the children to bed around 9 or 10 p.m. Martell stayed up after she went to sleep.
The next morning, May 2, Lilly was kept home from school because of a cough. Brooks-Murray marked them absent at 6:15 a.m.
Between 8 a.m. and around 9:40 a.m., the adults were in the bedroom with baby Meadow. Lilly popped in and out of the room, while Jack was heard pottering about in the kitchen.
Then, silence.
The parents could no longer hear the children. A wrench Martell had placed on the front door the night before remained undisturbed — suggesting the kids hadn’t left that way. The back sliding door, however, could be opened silently.
Panic set in. Martell and Brooks-Murray rushed outside, yelling the children’s names. Martell’s mother, Janie Mackenzie, who lived on the property, later recalled waking to the dog barking around 8:50 a.m. She heard what sounded like Lilly and Jack laughing and playing on the backyard swings before drifting back to sleep.
At 10:01 a.m., a distraught Brooks-Murray dialed 911. The children were gone.
Lilly was last believed to be wearing a pink sweater, pink pants, and pink boots. Jack had on his beloved blue dinosaur boots.
RCMP arrived swiftly. Initially, they believed the vulnerable young children had simply wandered off into the surrounding wilderness — a tragic but explainable accident in an area teeming with hazards like dense forest and waterways.
No evidence of abduction, they stressed early on. A vulnerable missing persons advisory was issued for Pictou County that afternoon.
Massive search operation grips the community
What followed was one of the largest search efforts in recent Nova Scotia history.
By May 3, more than 100 volunteers, ground search teams, police dogs, drones, and helicopters were combing the area. Premier Tim Houston appealed for calm, saying: “People in Pictou County and across Nova Scotia are praying for a positive outcome… our first responders and volunteers are working tirelessly during this 24/7 operation.”
Searchers swelled to 160 by May 4. They scoured every inch of the rugged terrain — woods, fields, even underwater recovery teams on standby.
Brooks-Murray, emotional in early interviews, pleaded: “We just want them home as soon as possible. The night of May 2 was one of the worst nights because I didn’t have them in their beds, and I don’t want to go another night without them.”
Martell, too, joined the calls for help, urging authorities to monitor the New Brunswick border and airports.
But as days turned into a week with no trace — no clothing, no footprints leading anywhere definitive, no sightings — hope began to fade.
On May 7, the RCMP scaled back the intensive ground search. Staff Sgt. Curtis MacKinnon said there were “no confirmed sightings” and it was “unlikely they were still alive” if they had wandered off.
A renewed search on May 18 brought in another 115 volunteers, but still nothing.
In July, a pink blanket possibly linked to one of the children was found during searches, along with other minor items like a bootprint — but RCMP have been cautious about overhyping any single discovery.
Hundreds of hours of video footage from surrounding areas were reviewed. Dozens of interviews conducted. Polygraphs administered.
Yet the children had vanished without a trace.
Family under the microscope: Tensions, allegations, and charges
As the investigation deepened, the spotlight inevitably turned inward — to the family dynamics inside that rural home.
Court documents unsealed in stages throughout 2025 and early 2026 painted a more complicated picture.
In a May 9, 2025 interview with RCMP, Brooks-Murray alleged that Martell had sometimes been physically abusive toward her during their relationship. She described arguments, including over money, and a sense of isolation in the months leading up to the disappearance.
Friends of Brooks-Murray described her as shy, quiet, and non-confrontational. One told CBC she had lost significant weight, was in poor health, and was “taking it day by day” amid the “absolute torture” and “mental torture” of not knowing.
The home environment was portrayed by some as cluttered and chaotic, with strained relationships. Brooks-Murray reportedly had a fallout with Martell’s family over his past drug use, leading to arguments. She left the property shortly after the disappearance and even blocked Martell on social media.
Martell has firmly denied the abuse allegations, calling them a “narrative” designed to portray him negatively. In interviews, he insisted he had nothing to do with the children’s disappearance.
By January 2026, the scrutiny intensified further. On January 26 or 27, 34-year-old Daniel Robert Martell was arrested and charged with sexual assault, assault, and forcible confinement — but RCMP stressed the charges involve an adult victim and are not directly linked to the missing children case.
He was released with conditions and is due back in Pictou provincial court.
Polygraph tests added another layer. Early on, both Brooks-Murray and Martell underwent tests on May 12 at the Bible Hill detachment, which indicated they were truthful on key questions. At least half a dozen polygraphs were done initially, with another round conducted as recently as February 2026.
RCMP have not disclosed details of the latest tests or who was involved.
The biological father, Cody Sullivan — estranged and not seen by the children for three years — was quickly ruled out after police visited his home in the middle of the night on May 3. He denied any involvement.
Maternal grandmother Cyndy Murray has spoken of the unbearable pain: missing the children’s hugs, their laughter, being called “Nae Nae.” She described a happy Easter visit just before the disappearance, full of play and joy, and urged the public not to engage in harmful online speculation.
A ‘rare’ and complex investigation: RCMP’s massive effort
From the outset, the RCMP threw everything at the case.
Eleven specialized units were involved: Major Crime, Digital Forensics, Police Dog Services, Underwater Recovery, Behavioural Sciences, Criminal Analysis, and more.
Hundreds of videos reviewed. Legal warrants for devices and records. Over 1,400 investigative tasks logged.
By June 2025, lead investigators admitted the probe was taking “longer than we all hoped,” but stressed every scenario was being considered — from wandering accident to something more sinister.
In December 2025, Staff Sgt. McCamon called the case “extremely rare,” saying in his 33 years he’d never seen anything like it. Yet he expressed confidence that progress was being made and it would not become a cold case.
A $150,000 reward was offered by the Nova Scotia government in June 2025 for information of “investigative value.” Crime Stoppers tips continue to pour in.
As of early 2026, RCMP say they have reviewed search areas to ensure nothing was missed. No new large-scale ground searches are planned, but the file remains very much active.
McCamon reiterated on National Missing Persons Day: the team is fully committed.
Nova Scotia Attorney General Becky Druhan echoed the sentiment earlier: “Police and investigators are working tirelessly to find answers… I urge anyone with information to please share this with the RCMP as soon as possible.”
The disappearance has touched hearts far beyond Pictou County. Canadians from coast to coast have followed every update, shared the children’s smiling photos, and prayed for a miracle.
Lilly, born in March 2019, was a bright six-year-old. Jack, born October 29, 2020, was four and full of mischief.
Their baby sister Meadow is now older, growing up without her big brother and sister — a void no one can fill.
Friends and family speak of a close-knit but troubled household in the final months. Questions linger: How could two small children disappear so completely in broad daylight while adults were nearby? Why no trace in the exhaustive searches? What really happened in those critical morning hours?
RCMP have repeatedly said there is still no direct evidence of a crime — but they have not ruled anything out.
The human cost: A community in limbo
In Lansdowne Station, a tight-knit rural community about 140 kilometres northeast of Halifax, life has changed.
Volunteers who dropped everything to search speak of exhaustion and lingering hope mixed with dread.
Online forums and social media buzz with theories — some compassionate, others cruel speculation that has hurt the family.
Grandmother Cyndy Murray pleaded for focus on the children, not gossip.
Brooks-Murray has largely stayed out of the spotlight, consistent with her quiet personality, according to friends.
Martell has faced public scrutiny, especially after the unsealed documents and his unrelated charges.
The case has highlighted vulnerabilities in rural areas: vast search terrains, limited immediate surveillance, the challenges of missing persons investigations involving young children.
It also underscores the emotional toll. As one family friend put it, the not-knowing is the cruelest part.
Where do we go from here?
As 2026 unfolds, the RCMP’s message is clear: this investigation is far from over.
With more than 1,111 tips assessed and 1,400+ tasks underway, detectives continue sifting through data, re-interviewing, analyzing forensics, and chasing leads.
Another round of polygraphs in February suggests they are still probing family accounts and potential witnesses.
McCamon has said the case keeps him up at night — a sentiment shared by many across Canada.
The children’s faces — Lilly’s warm grin, Jack’s toothy smile — remain etched in the public consciousness, plastered on missing posters, shared endlessly online.
Anyone with information is urged to contact Nova Scotia RCMP or Crime Stoppers anonymously.
The Sullivan family, the Pictou County community, and a watching nation cling to the slim hope that answers will come — and that Lilly and Jack might one day come home.
Until then, the RCMP vows to keep working tirelessly.
Because for two innocent children who vanished on an ordinary spring morning, giving up is simply not an option.