The massive search for two missing children in Nova Scotia is being “scaled back” after six days, with police saying the likelihood the children are alive is “very low.”
Volunteers will be leaving the search area at the end of day Wednesday, and further responsibilities will be handed over to the RCMP.
RCMP said that it has been an “all hands on deck effort” and that while they are scaling back the full search to look at more “specific spaces,” they are not ending their efforts.
“We’re not packing up and we’re not giving up,” said Staff Sgt. Curtis MacKinnon, District Commander for Pictou County District RCMP.
Lilly and Jack Sullivan, aged six and four, were reported missing on May 2 at around 10 a.m. from their home on Gairloch Road in Lansdowne Station, which is about 30 kilometres from New Glasgow, N.S.
MacKinnon said upwards of 160 searchers and others have taken part in the operation each day – covering four square kilometres of heavy-wooded rural terrain. The operation has included the use of drones, police dogs, and helicopters.
He said there have been no confirmed sightings of the two children.
“We want to circle back to increase the probability that all clues have been found. And when transitioning from an active search to a scaled back search, the probability of survival is taken into consideration,” MacKinnon said during a news conference Wednesday afternoon.
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“Our investigation is broad, and it won’t end until we know where Lilly and Jack are and can bring them home.”
He added that the children’s family has been kept updated on the search and the investigation. As part of that investigation, family and community members have been interviewed to gather tips, he said.
The RCMP’s Major Crime Unit has also been involved in the investigation since the beginning.
Staff Sgt. Rob McCamon, acting officer in charge of Major Crime and Behavioural Sciences Group, wouldn’t say whether there is a criminal element in their disappearance.
“I can’t really comment on the details of that, but we will pursue every lead that becomes available and take it to where it needs to go,” he said.
McCamon went on to say the decision to scale back the search was made, in part, because there is little chance the children are alive.
“Based on the experts and the review of the facts, the inclement weather, the time frames and their age, the likelihood that they’re alive right now is very low,” he said.
Amy Hansen with Colchester County Ground Search and Rescue said the terrain and conditions have been difficult for searchers – many of whom have been on site for days.
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“It’s time to scale back,” she said. “We’re exhausting people and we’re starting to see more injuries coming back.”
Family has given RCMP ‘everything they wanted’: stepfather
The children’s stepfather, Daniel Martell, said the decision to scale down the search isn’t surprising.
“They can only do so much. They’re running on as much sleep as I am,” he said.
“They’ve been over so many times with helicopters, drones, dogs. I mean, they’re doing everything they can, just like me and my family are doing everything we can.”
Martell adds that he and his family have been working closely with the RCMP to assist in their investigation.
“They’ve gone through the house, dogs — they’ve gone around the property with dogs,” said Martell.
“I’ve given them everything they wanted, I gave them my phone, I asked for polygraph exams.”
RCMP said it’s believed children wandered away
RCMP said last Friday, when the children were reported missing, that there were no signs of abduction and believed they wandered away.
“Police are pursuing all investigative avenues, and there are a variety of teams involved who are applying the tools and the skills and the expertise that are needed to bring Lilly and Jack home,” said Nova Scotia RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Carlie McCann on Tuesday.
In an interview this week, Martell said he wanted the search area to be expanded to include provincial borders and airports in case the children were abducted.
Martell told Global News that his side of the family are the only ones at the search site, after Lilly and Jack’s mother left the county on Saturday.
When reached by phone, the children’s mother, Malehya Brooks-Murray, said she had been advised by RCMP not to speak with the media further. Her mother, Cyndy Murray, also spoke to Global News and said the family was hoping for a positive outcome.
Lilly is described as having shoulder-length, light brown hair with bangs. She might be wearing a pink sweater, pink pants and pink boots. Martell said she was also carrying a white backpack with strawberries on it.
Jack has short, blond hair and was wearing blue dinosaur boots. Martell said he had not seen Jack on Friday morning, but believed he was wearing a brown shirt and pants with a pull-up diaper underneath.
— with files from The Canadian Press and Global News’ Ella MacDonald and Mitchell Bailey
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