Close to one year after the disappearance of two young Nova Scotia siblings, RCMP say their investigation hasn’t stalled but they’re still looking for “fact-based tips” as they try to determine what happened to Lilly and Jack Sullivan.
The officer in charge of major crimes told reporters Thursday that while the disappearance of four-year-old Jack Sullivan and his six-year-old sister Lilly is still considered a missing persons case, there is no evidence of an abduction.
When asked if he believed the children were still alive, Staff Sgt. Rob McCamon reiterated what he said nearly a year ago.
“I think the chances that Jack and Lilly are alive are very slim,” he said.
He stressed that investigators have not given up, and that “we want answers as much as everybody else.”
“Ever since this began, the RCMP has been actively engaged in pursuing the answers as to what happened with Jack and Lilly. This is a critical question for our community when two young children go missing and we have no answers,” he said.
“We’ve not let up the steam and we won’t.”
Reported missing from their home
Lilly and Jack were reported missing on May 2, 2025, from their home in Lansdowne Station, N.S., in Pictou County.
The children’s family told police the siblings wandered away from their home, which is situated in a heavily wooded area, that morning.
Get daily National news
What followed was a multi-agency ground, air, and water search, including the use of cadaver dogs.
In an update Thursday, RCMP said investigators have formally interviewed 106 people, administered polygraphs, reviewed 8,132 video files and executed warrants for “materials and digital devices of those closest to the children.” That material has included phone and banking records.
As well, police report evaluating and prioritizing 1,191 tips.
“This investigation is always going to take time. There’s been a lot of tips, a lot of interviews and a lot of video that we’ve had to review and, of course, other avenues of different areas where we want to collect and things,” said McCamon.
“So it takes a long time to go through all that and do it, but that’s where the investigation stands.”
When asked what “fact-based tips” from the public meant, McCamon said police are looking for information beyond “speculation or thoughts or theories.”
“Sometimes social media can get fairly speculative and sometimes not necessarily based in truth or fact,” he said.
“We’d like information that actually points us in a direction to try and find out things that have taken place. So I just find sometimes social media can be a little bit murky.”
He went on to say that speculations and rumours can actually bog down police investigations because they’re “duty-bound to follow all leads.”
“So when we get things that really are very speculative, it creates work for us that of course takes away from maybe better areas that we could focus on,” he said.
Over the weekend, another search by volunteers was conducted. While McCamon said police “appreciate the efforts from the different groups,” he said RCMP do not have any current plans themselves for another search.
Family impacts
At the time of their disappearance, the children lived with their mother, Malehya Brooks-Murray and stepfather, Daniel Martell, and their baby sister.
Brooks-Murray has rarely spoken publicly. She declined Global News’ request for an interview about the upcoming one-year anniversary of the children’s disappearance.
In a statement released in November 2025 via Please Bring Me Home, a not-for-profit group that looks for missing people, Brooks-Murray appealed for information.
She wrote, “I will never stop searching for my children until they are found and brought home safe and sound. Someone, somewhere knows something so please bring my babies home.”
Martell has spoken extensively to the media in the past about the children’s disappearance. In October 2025, he told Global News he no longer believed the siblings had wandered into the woods.
He did not respond to an interview request by deadline Thursday.
Martell was charged in January of this year and is facing charges of sexual assault, assault and forcible confinement involving an adult victim. The allegations have not been proven in court, and the complainant’s identity is protected by a publication ban.
When asked how the children’s disappearance and investigation is weighing on the family, McCamon said his heart goes out to them.
“I’m not going to talk specifically about the family impacts, but in general, in any circumstance like this, there’s impacts on the family, and you know, my heart goes out to them,” said McCamon.
The province is offering a reward of up to $150,000 for information on the case.
Anyone with information can call the Northeast Nova RCMP Major Crime Unit at 902‑896‑5060 or by email. Tips can also be submitted anonymously through Nova Scotia Crime Stoppers.
Comments
Comments closed.
Due to the sensitive and/or legal subject matter of some of the content on globalnews.ca, we reserve the ability to disable comments from time to time.
Please see our Commenting Policy for more.