They were already living every parent’s worst nightmare — their lively three-year-old son Dylan Ehler had vanished into thin air from his grandmother’s backyard in Truro, Nova Scotia, on a warm May afternoon in 2020.

But instead of sympathy and support, Jason Ehler and Ashley Brown say they were met with a vicious online onslaught that made their unimaginable grief even worse.

Within hours of Dylan’s disappearance, the couple claim they were “swarmed” by cruel keyboard warriors who accused them of everything from staging the disappearance to being involved in their own child’s fate.

Now, almost a year after the little boy went missing, Jason and Ashley have taken the extraordinary step of going to court under Nova Scotia’s rarely used Cyber-safety Act to fight back against what they describe as relentless cyberbullying and harassment.

“We never provoked them, we didn’t ask for any of this. They just started swarming us,” a visibly emotional Jason Ehler told reporters outside the Nova Scotia Supreme Court in Truro.

The legal action marks a new and painful chapter in a case that has already torn the family apart and left an entire community desperate for answers that have never come.

The disappearance that shocked a nation

On May 6, 2020, three-year-old Dylan was playing happily in the backyard of his grandmother Dorothy Parsons’ home on Elizabeth Street in Truro.

One moment he was there. The next — in what his grandmother described as possibly just 18 to 20 seconds — he was gone.

Despite an immediate and massive search involving police, volunteers, divers, helicopters and dogs, the only trace ever found was Dylan’s small rubber boots, recovered from the nearby Lepper Brook that flows into the powerful Salmon River and eventually the Bay of Fundy.

No body. No clothing. No other evidence.

Truro Police have consistently said there is no evidence of foul play and that the most likely explanation is a tragic accidental drowning. But Dylan’s parents have never fully accepted that theory, pointing to what they see as gaps in the investigation and a rush to judgment by authorities.

The heartbreak of not knowing what happened to their little boy has been unbearable enough.

But then, they say, the online attacks began.

The dark side of social media ‘sleuthing’

Within hours of Dylan’s disappearance becoming public, Facebook groups, comment sections and private messages filled with speculation, rumours and outright accusations against Jason and Ashley.

Some claimed the parents were responsible. Others suggested they were covering something up. Wild theories spread like wildfire — from staging the disappearance for attention to far darker allegations.

The couple say they were doxxed, threatened and relentlessly hounded by people who had never met them but felt entitled to judge their grief.

A particular Facebook group called “Dylan Ehler Open for Suggestions” (later known as “Dylan Ehler Open for Discussions”) with thousands of members became a focal point for the vitriol.

Administrators and members allegedly posted false information, mocked the family’s pain, and spread baseless rumours that hindered the emotional well-being of Dylan’s parents and distracted from genuine search efforts.

Jason and Ashley say the harassment was so severe it affected their mental health, their ability to grieve privately, and even the ongoing search for their son.

In February 2021, they took the rare step of filing a civil application under Nova Scotia’s Cyber-safety Act — legislation designed to protect victims of online bullying.

Their lawyer argued the law was intended precisely for cases like this: where ordinary people become targets of coordinated online abuse during their most vulnerable moments.

Outside court in March 2021, Jason made the now-famous plea: “We never provoked them… They just started swarming us.”

Inside the court battle

The legal proceedings shone a harsh light on the toxic underbelly of true-crime social media communities.

Court documents and hearings revealed how quickly online speculation can spiral into harassment that has real-world consequences.

The parents sought protection orders against specific individuals involved in the groups, asking the court to force the removal of defamatory posts and prevent further contact or public discussion about them in relation to Dylan’s case.

They also requested damages for the emotional distress caused by the relentless campaign.

The case tested the boundaries of the Cyber-safety Act, which had been used infrequently since its introduction. Legal experts watched closely to see whether it could effectively curb the worst excesses of anonymous online mobs while balancing free speech concerns.

By August 2021, a settlement was reached in Nova Scotia Supreme Court against at least one of the main targets — Tom Hurley (also known as Tom Hubley), an administrator of one of the groups.

Under the agreement, Hurley was prohibited from reopening, joining, administering or moderating the Facebook group, creating any new groups or pages about Dylan, or making further public posts about the missing child or his parents.

A similar order was issued against another administrator, April Diane Moulton.

The settlement included a ban on further public commentary, offering the family a measure of peace from the most vocal online attackers.

However, the parents’ request for monetary damages was dismissed as part of the deal.

While the legal action brought some relief, Ashley later told media that “there are still some of those people out there,” showing the battle against online toxicity is never fully won.

The human cost of cyberbullying in a missing child case

For Jason and Ashley, the online harassment compounded an already devastating loss.

They were not only mourning a missing child but also defending themselves against baseless attacks at a time when they needed support the most.

Friends and supporters described how the couple received death threats, cruel messages questioning their parenting, and accusations that diverted attention from legitimate tips and searches.

The case highlights a growing problem in the age of social media: the dark side of armchair detectives and true-crime enthusiasts who, under the cloak of anonymity, feel empowered to harass grieving families.

Experts have warned that such behaviour can actually hinder police investigations by flooding tip lines with false information or intimidating witnesses.

In Dylan’s case, the family believes the online vitriol made their fight for answers even harder.

Grandmother Dorothy Parsons has also spoken publicly about her own pain and the strange theories that swirled online.

The family has participated in multiple volunteer searches over the years and continues to mark Dylan’s birthdays with heavy hearts, releasing paper boats into the brook as a symbolic gesture.

Age-progressed images of what Dylan might look like as a school-age boy have been widely shared, keeping his face in the public eye.

Six years on: Still searching, still fighting

As 2026 unfolds and Dylan would be approaching his ninth birthday, the case remains open but largely cold.

Truro Police insist they have not given up, but resources for cold cases are limited.

The family continues to press for a more thorough review of all possibilities, including those beyond the waterway theory.

Volunteer groups like Please Bring Me Home still organise occasional searches, and an “item of interest” reportedly found near the grandmother’s house in 2025 was handed to police, though no major breakthrough has been announced.

The legal victory against the online harassers provided a small measure of justice, but it cannot bring Dylan back or erase the trauma of the past six years.

Jason and Ashley have spoken about the double burden they carry: the uncertainty of not knowing what happened to their son, and the cruelty of strangers who made their pain worse.

In interviews, they have emphasised that they simply wanted to find their little boy — not to become targets of a digital mob.

A wider warning about online toxicity

Dylan Ehler’s case has become a cautionary tale about the dangers of unchecked social media speculation in missing persons investigations.

While online communities can sometimes generate useful tips, they can also spread misinformation, harass families, and derail genuine efforts.

Legal experts say the settlement in the Ehler case demonstrates that victims of cyberbullying do have recourse, even if the laws are still evolving.

Nova Scotia’s Cyber-safety Act, though rarely used, provided the family with a tool to push back.

However, the broader problem persists across platforms, where algorithms often amplify sensational or negative content.

Advocates for missing children urge the public to think twice before posting theories or accusations, reminding everyone that behind every case is a real family living through hell.

For Jason and Ashley, the fight continues on two fronts: searching for their son and protecting what remains of their peace.

They have never stopped hoping that one day they will get answers — whether from the waters of the Bay of Fundy, from new evidence, or from someone who knows something but has stayed silent.

In the meantime, they have shown remarkable resilience in the face of both unimaginable loss and undeserved cruelty.

“We never provoked them,” Jason said outside that courtroom.

But they have refused to be silenced by those who tried to break them.

The story of little Dylan Ehler — the toddler who vanished in seconds — continues to haunt Nova Scotia.

His parents’ determination to seek truth and protect their family’s dignity serves as a powerful reminder that even in the darkest times, some battles must be fought in both the physical world and the digital one.

Anyone with information about Dylan Ehler is urged to contact the Truro Police Service at 902-895-5351 or Crime Stoppers.