Lilly (6) and Jack (4) Sullivan are Canadian siblings who have been missing since May 2, 2025.
Lilly and Jack lived with their mother Malehya Brooks-Murray and their stepfather Daniel Martell at the time of their disappearance. It is believed that they have a baby sister named Meadow – from what we have read she was around 16 months old when the kids disappeared. The biological father of Lilly and Jack is said to have no contact with them. His name is Cody Sullivan.
The children are members of the Sipekne’katik First Nation, the second largest Mi’kmaw community in Nova Scotia, according to the tribe’s post on Facebook.
The family live in a rural home on Gairloch Road, in Lansdowne, Nova Scotia. To give you an idea of what the area is like, the population of Lansdowne is 423.
Lansdowne is located in Pictou County which has a population of around 45k.
The area surrounding their home is said to have been surrounded by woods, steep banks and thick brush.
Daniel’s mother lived on the same property as the family, in what has been described as a dilapidated camper.
The family had lived in the community for two years. Many of the people who live there are related and have lived there for dozens of years/generations.
We will start with a confirmed timeline of what we know in the case.
Tuesday April 29, 2025 was the last day that Lilly and Jack attended their school. They were both enrolled at Salt Springs Elementary school. That school was around 18kms (11 miles) away from their home.
There was no school scheduled for the following day, April 30 as it was a development day for the teachers.
According to Daniel, the children did not attend school on May 1 and 2 as they were both sick. Lilly was said to have had a cough.
It is believed that the day the children were last seen by anyone besides Daniel and Malehya was May 1.
Corporal Sandy Matharu, Northeast Nova RCMP Major Crime Unit, stated in a later press release “We’ve confirmed that Lilly and Jack were observed in public with family members on the afternoon of May 1.”
On Friday May 2, 2025, Daniel and Malehya said that they were both in the bedroom with meadow in the morning. They said Lilly came in and out of the room multiple times and that they could hear Jack in the kitchen.
The two children apparently went silent and that is allegedly when their parents realised that something was wrong.
Daniel has said that he thought the kids opened the back sliding door and went outside. Malehya has said that both adults looked for the kids, yelling their names.
At 10am, Malehya called 911 to report them missing. She said that Lilly was wearing a pink sweater, pink pants and pink boots and that Jack had been wearing blue dinosaur boots when they were last seen. She also said that Lilly may have had a white backpack with her.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) initiated a search for the children. At 12.25pm on May 2, they issued a public statement and asked anyone with information to come forward. The belief at that time was that the kids had wandered away from the home, into the woods. There was apparently no evidence of abduction.
This was the initial statement from the RCMP:
Since just after 10 a.m. this morning, May 2, a search has been underway for two children who are believed to have wandered from a home on Gairloch Rd. in Lansdowne Station, Pictou County.
There is a multi-agency response currently on the ground in Pictou County. It includes resources from ground search and rescue teams from around the province who are collaborating to ensure resources and teams are available on an ongoing basis. Other resources and teams include the Civil Air Search and Rescue Association (CASARA), Department of Natural Resources Air Services, and several RCMP units, including RCMP Police Dog Services, RCMP Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (drones) operators, and others. Additionally, the RCMP issued a vulnerable missing person alert for Pictou County.
Police and others involved in the search appreciate the ongoing community support across the province related to this missing person investigation. We ask, however, that the public avoid the search area to allow trained searchers to do their work. The child’s family has been kept updated on the search efforts.
On May 3, Malehya spoke to CTV News:
“We just want them home as soon as possible,” she said.
She told CTV News when she woke up Friday, she heard them playing in the next room and she drifted back to sleep. She said they’re not typically the type of kids who would go outside on their own.
“We always make sure that we’re out there with them, watching them, and they happen to just get out that sliding door, and we can’t hear it when it opens, and they were outside playing, but we weren’t aware of it at the time, and the next thing we knew it was quiet,” said Malehya.
She also spoke about searching for her children.
“We get up and look outside. We’re looking everywhere, yelling for them, and I instantly just called 911. I just had the instinct I needed to call.”
She said people “have searched every nook and cranny” and said the two should have been found by now.
“Last night 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,” said Malehya.
“They’re both really happy-go-lucky children. They’re so sweet. They talk to anyone. They’ll talk your ear off. They will speak to anyone in a store, everyone. They’re just extremely sweet kids,” said Malehya.
“They do have possible autism, but it’s not extreme autism. It’s just they have issues with school and they don’t catch up with the other kids.”
She gave this information to The Globe and Mail:
“Lilly came into the room multiple times. I seen her that morning and Jack was out playing in the kitchen, I’m guessing, and they slid open the back sliding door. It’s almost like silent to hear it sliding. They slid it open – the boots were right beside the door and they proceeded to, I’m guessing, playing outside. They must’ve got out through the back fence and then they were gone. As soon as I seen they were gone, immediately jumped in the car and did all the dirt roads, all the culverts, checked over the rivers and streams. As soon as I got home 10 minutes later, I headed out on foot.”
A spokesperson from the RCMP also provided an update on that day:
“There’s an active search going on, and it has been since we got the call yesterday morning,” said RCMP Corporal Sally Rice.
“We’re keeping all avenues open,” she said. “It’s a huge, wooded area with lots of potential and we’re ensuring we cover the entire space with a very structured search.”
Searchers were dealing with challenging conditions, including rough terrain, thick brush, and fluctuating weather. Rain overnight, as well as ticks, sun and cool temperatures, have all affected the operation.
“Our members on the ground are being cautious for their own safety,” said Rice. “Many have worked well beyond their shifts to make sure every area is covered. Everyone here wants the same outcome—to find these children safe.”
“There’s no information to suggest they were abducted,” said Rice. “Based on what we know, it appears they wandered off. The search will continue until we receive any new evidence that changes our direction. Right now, it’s still an active search.
On May 3, around 100 volunteers searched for the children. Authorities used dogs, drones and helicopters in their search.
At one point early in the search, a child sized boot print was discovered near a pipeline trail, close to Gairloch Road – close to the family home.
On May 4, 160 volunteers arrived to search for the children.
Daniel said that he wanted authorities to monitor borders and airports in case the children had been abducted.
Daniel spoke to CBC on May 6 and said that Malehya had left their home to be with her family in another part of Nova Scotia. He also said that she had blocked him on social media.
There is a reddit timeline of the case which we have linked on the blog and this excerpt is from that:
Mr. Martell said Ms. Brooks-Murray leaves midway through the update to sit in the back of an ambulance. She departs with her mother and Mr. Martell said he hasn’t seen her since. She cuts off contact with him after this.
Malehya’s mother (the children’s grandmother), Cyndy Murray, spoke to The Canadian Press over the phone. She said that the family were hoping and praying for the recovery of the children. She also said that police had advised the family against speaking to the media.
On May 6, Daniel was taken to the Pictou County District RCMP detachment in the town of Stellarton, where he was questioned for four hours. He said he was asked to go over details and timelines to the minute, and draw on maps where he thinks the children could be. “They’re easy on me because they know I’m telling the truth about everything.”
On May 7, the search for the children began to be scaled back. Authorities said that the efforts were scaled back due to “low” odds the children were still alive – and that they were not ruling out the possibility of foul play.
Staff Sgt Curtis MacKinnon said that dozens of searchers were being ordered to stand down and confirmed that the RCMP’s major crime unit had been involved in the investigation since 3 May.
Staff Sgt MacKinnon said all missing persons files “are treated as suspicious until our investigation leads us to determine otherwise”.
He said teams were left with fewer areas to search after after combing through kilometres of unforgiving terrain. “We’re not packing up and we’re not giving up.”
Police also took Daniel’s phone for examination on this day.
On May 8, investigators again questioned Daniel. “Basically at this point they just want to look at any tech that could help match up any phones that came into the yard,” he said.
That afternoon, a friend took him to the Children’s Protective Services office in Stellarton, where he asked to see Meadow. “As of now, I can’t be around Meadow,” he said during an interview the following day. “With the kids going missing, Children’s Protective Services wants to keep a tight leash on everything.”
Daniel spoke around that time about how he had been cooperating with the investigation.
“I gave them everything from my phone. I asked for a lie detector test and drug tests. … I’m the one trying to move this forward and give any information that I have.” He adds that police are looking at the wireless router in the home, to see who connected to the internet at what times.
On May 22, Newsweek reported the following statements:
Pictou County District RCMP Staff Sergeant Curtis MacKinnon: “We extend our sincere appreciation to the search and rescue volunteers who have selflessly given up over 10,000 hours of their time since this search began. Their tireless commitment in truly gruelling conditions is appreciated by both the RCMP and the greater community.”
RCMP Public Information Officer Corporal Carly McCann, in a statement to Newsweek: “We ask that people spread the word through social media respectfully, about this investigation and all ongoing missing person searches.”
On May 28, Newsweek reported that more than 355 tips had been sent regarding the siblings’ disappearance, and the police had “formally interviewed” over 50 people on the matter. Police also said that more interviews were planned in coming days.
On Friday, May 30, 2025, almost a month after the children disappeared, Daniel provided another statement.
“Every day when I wake up, it feels like I’m reliving a nightmare.”
On June 12, 2025, the RCMP gave this update:
On June 18, 2025, the paternal grandmother of the children, Belynda Gray, spoke to CBC:
She spoke about when law enforcement came to her home.
“They come inside. They only stood in the kitchen. They wanted me to wake Cody up and they wanted to know when was the last time he had seen the kids and that they were just making sure that the kids weren’t here. And then they left.”
She also spoke about the circumstances that led to the family breaking up.
“I thought they were the picture-perfect family,” said Belynda. “Then Malehya started to tell me that they were having problems and she wasn’t happy.”
Melahya decided to end the relationship, and Cody chose to walk away from the children. Their mother petitioned the court for sole custody, she said.
“When she did that, he said that he was done. He just didn’t want no part of it,” said Belynda. She said that Cody (29) had been living with her for nine months after he lost his job, apartment and car.
“He hasn’t seen the kids for three years.”
Belynda has said that she did have occasional communication with the children before Malehya got with Daniel.
“Any time we wanted to see the kids, she’d come by for a visit. She’d bring them by all the time,” Belynda said.
By the time they disappeared, Belynda had not seen the children for two years.
Belynda spoke about going to help search for the siblings. “I’m yelling for Lilly and Jack. We always called Jack ‘Jackie boy.’ His heritage is Irish.” “I started to feel that I can’t see them being in the woods.… There’s trees everywhere. You literally have to climb over trees, climb under bushes. It is really, really thick.”
“You could see places around where they played and you could see places around where you might want to explore as a kid,” she said.
“But beyond those exploration points, there’s no reason for any child to wander deep into the woods.”
Belynda said that she had been speaking of the children in the past tense as she believes they are no longer alive.
“My heart tells me these babies are gone,” she said. “I just want them back.
“These are everybody’s grandchildren. They’re not just mine now. It does seem like the whole world cares.”
On Thursday June 19, it was reported by CBC that Daniel had taken a polygraph. He was asked if he had killed the children.
“It’s like your stress level is just astronomically through the roof and your body doesn’t know what to do because it’s not every day the way you’re hooked up to machines in an interrogation room where someone asks you questions like that.”
He said all the questions were presumptive that the children are no longer alive, such as: “Are you an accessory to the murder of Lilly and Jack?”
None of the questions assumed the children were taken, he said.
Daniel said he was told that he had passed the test. He said the investigator told him: “You did a good job. You passed.”
He said a piece of blanket that was found in the early days of the search belonged to Lilly.
“There is more evidence than what the public knows, but I can’t elaborate on any of that,” he said.
CBC also reported more about the May 1 sighting of the children on this day. In an interview with Daniel, he said the footage was from a store near Highland Square Mall in New Glasgow, N.S.
“The investigators don’t see me as part of the disappearance,” he said. “I know I have nothing to do with any of it.”
In this CBC article, the RCMP also confirmed that they had not yet used cadaver dogs in the searches. Why??
RCMP confirmed in a statement that cadaver dogs have not been deployed as part of the investigation.
“Any searches involving the dog will be based on information gathered through the ongoing investigation,” the statement said.
The Nova Scotia Government is offering a reward of up to $150,000 for information about Jack and Lilly’s disappearance.
Anyone who comes forward with information under the rewards for unsolved major crimes programs must provide their name and contact information, and may be called to testify in court. The number to call is 1-888-710-9090.
SOURCE LIST
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disappearance_of_Lilly_and_Jack_Sullivan
https://www.newsweek.com/lilly-jack-sullivan-map-shows-every-update-search-missing-kids-2074136
https://ca.news.yahoo.com/experts-point-anomalies-unprecedented-case-174450148.html
https://www.newsweek.com/lilly-jack-sullivan-update-missing-children-canada-2078147
https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/lilly-sullivan-jack-sullivan-missing-nova-scotia
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/grandmother-of-missing-kids-speaks-out-1.7527553
https://www.newsweek.com/lilly-jack-sullivan-map-shows-every-update-search-missing-kids-2074136
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/reward-nova-scotia-jack-lilly-sullivan-1.7565391
https://ca.news.yahoo.com/experts-point-anomalies-unprecedented-case-174450148.html