CANADA Canada - Jack, 4 & Lilly Sullivan, 6, Vulnerable, wandered from home 10am, Gairloch Rd, Landsdowne Station, Pictou County, NS, 2 May 2025 #4

[Sarahlou]

true, but them asking for footage beginning on the 27th tells me they don't believe the children wandered off Friday morning without a trace any more than I do. JMO others mileage will vary

This. I really don't think they've ever believed the 'wandered off' story.

 

[SluethinAway]

I do not believe they are looking for any child abductor on those trail cams. JMO They are looking for evidence of something else.

Agree

 

[Skigh]

This. I really don't think they've ever believed the 'wandered off' story.

I would be extremely surprised if they did believe it !

 

[Sarahlou]

I would be extremely surprised if they did believe it !

I'd be concerned if they did!

 

[tlorik]

Skib's mapping skills are unmatched. Miss her face around here.

I miss her too!

 

[AddyFinch]

true, but them asking for footage beginning on the 27th tells me they don't believe the children wandered off Friday morning without a trace any more than I do. JMO others mileage will vary

I agree, they've been gone for longer than May 2. I still think about the possibility of ingesting something lethal and parents panicked.

 

[MistyWaters]

This. I really don't think they've ever believed the 'wandered off' story.

The first search was six days, then another 2 days at the lake and 2 more days of followup. That’s ten days of intensive searching. It’s doesn’t matter what they believed, can you imagine if they hadn’t thoroughly looked for those children if there was even remotest possibility they were out there, injured, freezing, starving.

No way would any police force not look for lost children and we would never know what they believed. As the search was seemingly unsuccessful they will look to another direction for where the evidence leads, as goes an investigation.
JMO

 

[Skigh]

The first search was six days, then another 2 days at the lake and 2 more days of followup. That’s ten days of intensive searching. It’s doesn’t matter what they believed, can you imagine if they hadn’t thoroughly looked for those children if there was even remotest possibility they were out there, injured, freezing, starving.

No way would any police force not look for lost children.
JMO

I do not think it was ever suggested by the poster that searches should not have taken place. No one is questioning that.

 

[Sarahlou]

The first search was six days, then another 2 days at the lake and 2 more days of followup. That’s ten days of intensive searching. It’s doesn’t matter what they believed, can you imagine if they hadn’t thoroughly looked for those children if there was even remotest possibility they were out there, injured, freezing, starving.

No way would any police force not look for lost children.
JMO

As Skigh said, that's not what I was suggesting at all. I don't know how you took that from my post.

Of course they should search. I just don't believe they thought the kids had wandered off. I think they were looking for where they could have been hidden by others.

 

[MistyWaters]

I do not think it was ever suggested by the poster that searches should not have taken place. No one is questioning that.

We have absolutely no reason at all to believe that wasn’t a sincere effort to search for the missing children, or the RCMP never believed the children wandered.

 

[Marie A]

Occam’s Razor would suggest that these kids really did wander off.
That’s still the most likely scenario despite the searches turning up nothing and the dysfunctional relationship/ ensuing weirdness after the disappearance between the mom and stepdad.
I think that we would have heard something from acquaintances if either parent or step parent was questionable/ shady/ under serious suspicion of foul play.
We read about children this age (and younger) regularly who wander off and drown in a pond or river.
It would be much less likely that they were injured or disappeared by someone who knew them.
It would be extremely unlikely that they were kidnapped- especially when you take into account how rural this part of Nova Scotia is.

I think that the investigators are simply covering their bases and diving in deeper by asking for video coverage/ trail cam coverage. They are being more thorough in light of the fact that searches in the woods have turned up nothing- kudos to them for considering all possibilities no matter how unlikely. It’s smart to extend dates too while they are at it and cover their bases.

My gut feeling is that initial ask for trail cam video is for the purpose of checking to see if they either see the kids wandering or if they see any animals carrying remains that could be the kids.

I live in an area that’s not particularly rural and you wouldn’t believe the number of animals that our trail cams pick up- some that would be dangerous to small children.

I keep thinking about Bodin Allen who wandered through rough terrain for 7 miles at only 2 years old recently in Arizona. It is a miracle he was found by that wonderful guard dog Buford and that he survived basically unscathed.
I realize that there is a vast difference between these two types of terrain- AZ vs thick NS woods- but that is a crazy long trek for a toddler. These are bigger kids who could have gotten well past the search area when lost in the woods.

All IMHO

 

[MistyWaters]

As Skigh said, that's not what I was suggesting at all. I don't know how you took that from my post.

Of course they should search. I just don't believe they thought the kids had wandered off. I think they were looking for where they could have been hidden by others.

Every single PC the RCMP indicated they believed the children had wandered, I just don’t think it’s up to the public to question what they believed, especially as this investigation is still ongoing. JMO

 

[Skigh]

We have absolutely no reason at all to believe that wasn’t a sincere effort to search for the missing children, or the RCMP never believed the children wandered.

Of course there was a sincere search ,but it does not alter the fact that they could have at the same time have serious doubts about the children wandering.

 

[CityKid]

OK I get it, and I guess thats my point also. They had the same story day 1. She said nothing about mistrusting Daniel and called him " her partner" the status change the very next day conflicts obviously. So if there is more to know I sure hope she is talking to the police.

MOO. I've always believed they both know what happened to Jack and Lilly. I believe "Day 1" is not Friday, the day they reported the children missing. I do believe they formed the same story on Day 1, but the stories they told on the day they reported differ slightly (MBM never saw either Jack or Lilly; DM saw Lilly several times, for example) but the key elements they both wanted to stress remained consistent (very friendly to strangers, silent sliding door, never go out unsupervised). I believe DM began to add details that they hadn't discussed (DM's extensive searches, hearing Jack in the kitchen, the backpack, suggesting the RCMP should search farther from the house toward the province borders/airports). MBM stopped speaking because she didn't want to contradict what DM said, but since some of it wasn't in their script, she didn't know how to respond without getting tripped up. MOO.

 

[appleatcha]

Even the mother and stepfather don't seem to believe the kids just wandered off. From the beginning, they were talking about abduction, and the mom asked for an Amber Alert. LE said they didn't see evidence of an abduction, but they never really said what they did think. As far as I know, nobody has ever clarified who it was that actually did believe the kids wandered into the woods, it was just reported that "it was believed." My opinion only.

 

[MistyWaters]

Of course there was a sincere search ,but it does not alter the fact that they had serious doubts about the facts they were given.

We don’t know what facts were given to police. Somebody talking to the media as opposed to providing information to police probably yields entirely different results. For example from the media interviews we have dozens of questions, gapping holes that don’t make sense. Police would ask questions to achieve clarity, we can’t.

 

[MistyWaters]

Even the mother and stepfather don't seem to believe the kids just wandered off. From the beginning, they were talking about abduction, and the mom asked for an Amber Alert. LE said they didn't see evidence of an abduction, but they never really said what they did think. As far as I know, nobody has ever clarified who it was that actually did believe the kids wandered into the woods, it was just reported that "it was believed." My opinion only.

Is it true the mom asked for an Amber Alert by a FB post? If so how sincerely did she expect that to be followed up?

 

[Lexiintoronto]

For the folks in Nova Scotia is there any similarities in this case and the Dylan Ehlers case?Dylan Ehlers

Some of the similarities I see are that the exact time the children went missing isn’t clear, the points where they all went missing are geographically close, and they went missing around the same time of year.
Also, train tracks and bodies of water were close by.

The area where Dylan disappeared was more developed than where Lilly and Jack disappeared.

 

[Notascreenname]

I know which theory I personally believe

However just to say that wrong place wrong time opportunistic abductions of a child has happened. Sarah Payne, UK for example. She was playing in a cornfield with her 2 brothers and sister. She left the cornfield heading towards a country road to go back to her grandparents house. Her elder brother chased after her, she was out of his sight for 20, 30 seconds? She was abducted by Roy Whiting in those 20-30 seconds. Thrown into his van and...yeah. Awful.

 

[appleatcha]

Is it true the mom asked for an Amber Alert by a FB post? If so how sincerely did she expect that to be followed up?

I have no idea what the mom may or may not have posted on Facebook or how sincere she is about anything. We discussed the mother's request for an Amber Alert in the first few pages of Thread #1, so I recommend rereading that. This is the news article where I first saw the mention of the mom requesting an Amber Alert:

‘We just want them home’: Mother of missing children in Nova Scotia’s Pictou County pleads for safe return​