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

[AddyFinch]

No way would any police force not look for lost children and we would never know what they believed.

I agree....I can guarantee, no cop would need to be forced or ordered to search. They would dig in and get to it. They would make off coloured comments and use dark humour but they would search willingly.
And as some one pointed out "when opportunity knocks"...... those videos could add a little info gathering such as bush meth labs, moonshine apparatus, illegal hunting, stolen cars, etc etc.... Always nice to have that little extra info if ever needed.

 

[MistyWaters]

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​

Yes I thought I recalled reading somewhere the source was a FB post.

Mother calls for amber alert as search continues for missing Pictou County children - - Missing People Canada

Their mother, Malehya Brooks-Murray, is urging officials to escalate the search, fearing her children may have been taken. “I want an Amber Alert for my children! I want my babies home,” Brooks-Murray said in a social media post...

missingpeople.ca

“Their mother, Malehya Brooks-Murray, is urging officials to escalate the search, fearing her children may have been taken.

“I want an Amber Alert for my children! I want my babies home,” Brooks-Murray said in a social media post.”

 

[Ontario Mom]

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

Although I'm not sure how to reconcile them wanting footage from the 27th, when we know the kids were seen by the bus driver two days later on the 29th when he dropped them off at home after school.

 

[ApartoftheNarrative]

Although I'm not sure how to reconcile them wanting footage from the 27th, when we know the kids were seen by the bus driver two days later on the 29th when he dropped them off at home after school.

My assumption is, after reading through the thread, and as others have said, it is to monitor and rule out local traffic. Because there is nothing officially ruled out that we are aware of, the date before the disappearance, in my opinion is to look at and use local traffic patterns to find any suspicious vehicles and/or individuals in the area.

 

[Bigditch]

Non-family Abductions & Attempts

A nonfamily abduction occurs when a child is taken by someone known, but not related, to the child, such as a neighbor or an online acquaintance, or by someone unknown to the child. Nonfamily abductions are the rarest type of case and make up only 1% of the missing children cases reported to NCMEC.

www.missingkids.org

''Attempted abductions occur more often when a child is going to or from school or school-related activities

• School-age children are at greatest risk on school days before and after school (7-9 a.m. and 3-4 p.m.) and after dinner time (6-7 p.m.)
• Attempted abductions most often occur on the street while children are playing, walking, or riding bikes
• Younger children are more likely to be playing or walking with a parent or an adult whereas school-age children are more likely to be walking alone or with peers.
• Attempted abductions of older children are more likely to involve a sexual component.''

 

[Bigditch]

Although I'm not sure how to reconcile them wanting footage from the 27th, when we know the kids were seen by the bus driver two days later on the 29th when he dropped them off at home after school.

27th the Sunday before?
I thought LE meant trail cams.

 

[Lucy6226]

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

I could probably buy into the wandering off story if we were talking one child here. But we are talking about two very young children who have disappeared without a trace...no sign of clothing, Welly boots or back pack. How likely is that to happen with two children?? MOO

 

[Veridex]

Sorry you've had a loved one gone missing, can't imagine how difficult that must be.

It's reassuring to hear your experience with RCMP though and how tight lipped they are, it makes me think they know exactly what's happened and just need the evidence to make an arrest.

That has to be the most likely scenario - frustrating that they are just asking for footage now but I guess they were holding out hope to find them in the area. I'm not sure why they haven't been using cadaver trained dogs as well to check the yard and forest.

The case is unprecedented, not one but two young children don't just go missing with no trace. I also have a hard time believing DM is a criminal mastermind and was able to hide evidence of foul play.

 

[IzzyBlanche]

The problem is, we don't know what we don't know.

 

[ttjo]

That has to be the most likely scenario - frustrating that they are just asking for footage now but I guess they were holding out hope to find them in the area. I'm not sure why they haven't been using cadaver trained dogs as well to check the yard and forest.

The case is unprecedented, not one but two young children don't just go missing with no trace. I also have a hard time believing DM is a criminal mastermind and was able to hide evidence of foul play.

OK I have to stick up for the RCMP on this one, I understand they are being held to the fire about just asking for trail cams this late in the game. However I posted a week ago that I heard on the dispatch that they were looking for people with trail cams on the first day of that dispatch So maybe it took them this long to find the lady with 7 cameras , but it doesnt sound like they just started looking for them now.
Apparantly they said they should have been out sooner,
Frankly if I had trail cams, I wouldn't wait for anyone to come to me, Id go to them.
I'll go find the post because it has what was said exactly

 

[ttjo]

T

CANADA Post in thread 'Canada - Jack, 4 & Lilly Sullivan, 6, Vulnerable, wandered from home 10am, Gairloch Rd, Landsdowne Station, Pictou County, NS, 2 May 2025 #3'

May 17, 2025

I also remember them saying on the scanner they found a camera ( trail cam or some kind of camera) and were contacting the owner. Later someone called in saying they could call back to talk about any vehicles that drove by? Was that the owner of the trail cam? I dont know? but if they had a lead they would have followed it.
Is broadcastify airing the calls anymore? I know in my city the police shut down airing on broadcastify a couple years ago due to safety and privacy.

• ttjo

• 

I will find it and post that piece of the recording ( I thought I did... but I'll find it again) or I may not have posted it because they said the persons name.

 

[LadyL]

It’s not. It says she is 5km not miles away. There’s also not a large amount of neighbours so I think it’s odd they hadn’t been there sooner.

The comment that she says they made “we probably should’ve came sooner” seems more like throwing shade on other investigators than taking accountability imo.

Also not a good look that they weren’t showing up knowing the dates they wanted footage for.

There could be a reason why they wanted to wait to canvas the cameras if they had reason to believe that they might catch something on it taking place after all the chaos had calmed down and potential suspects become a bit more confident.

Still have faith but the RCMP better hope they are hiding the ball for investigative reasons and not because they don’t have any answers.

All IMO

[bbm]

it's 8 km. or approx. 5 miles

Although I'm not sure how to reconcile them wanting footage from the 27th, when we know the kids were seen by the bus driver two days later on the 29th when he dropped them off at home after school.

one reason could be that they're looking for suspicious vehicles scouting the area for unsupervised kids

 

[Motoman_90]

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.

I will always remember Sarah as I was playing in the same field she was a week before she got took I was 9 at the time me and my family went and laid flowers at the gate of the field where she was found

 

[wvmoonangel]

[bbm]

it's 8 km. or approx. 5 miles


one reason could be that they're looking for suspicious vehicles scouting the area for unsupervised kids

IMHO With no Amber alert and them looking for video footage I feel they are trying to rule the wandering off and abduction theories out.

 

[MistyWaters]

IMHO With no Amber alert and them looking for video footage I feel they are trying to rule the wandering off and abduction theories out.

The criteria for an Amber Alert in Canada requires a description of the abductor or vehicle to assist the public with details about who to watch out for. Generally speaking, not calling an Amber Alert does not rule an abduction out, it just indicates the identity of an abductor is unknown.

 

[AddyFinch]

I reread the Amber Alert criteria for both Ontario and Nova Scotia. I wasn't aware both have same criteria, and the one missing in this case is "police must have confirmed/believe an abduction has taken place". Nova Scotia criteria and Ontario criteria I don't know if I agree completely with this need for confirmation/belief it might delay precious time, although they can't be issuing non stop Amber Alerts for kids that havent' truly "gone missing" only to turn up an hour later. But???
So here we are... three weeks later, still no kids. Reminds me of Maddie McCann, or Natalie Holoway, where do they go from here, and if parents are innocent, how do they move on? Or if DM is guilty, but never proven, how does mother protect her toddler Meadow?

 

[MistyWaters]

I reread the Amber Alert criteria for both Ontario and Nova Scotia. I wasn't aware both have same criteria, and the one missing in this case is "police must have confirmed/believe an abduction has taken place". Nova Scotia criteria and Ontario criteria I don't know if I agree completely with this need for confirmation/belief it might delay precious time, although they can't be issuing non stop Amber Alerts for kids that havent' truly "gone missing" only to turn up an hour later. But???
So here we are... three weeks later, still no kids. Reminds me of Maddie McCann, or Natalie Holoway, where do they go from here, and if parents are innocent, how do they move on? Or if DM is guilty, but never proven, how does mother protect her toddler Meadow?

Yes if Amber Alerts were issued for every missing child over the possibility he/she might’ve been abducted there’d be so many alerts that they’d lose significance. But there’s quite a poor understanding by many of what an Amber Alert is all about, obviously including MBM.

There can be nothing worse for parents/loved ones than a missing child case that never gets solved especially if no body is ever found.
JMO

 

[JDG]

IMHO With no Amber alert and them looking for video footage I feel they are trying to rule the wandering off and abduction theories out.

Don’t think they can ever rule out abduction or wandering off until they come up with concrete evidence of something else.

Looking for video footage is just that. Looking for more clues from video footage.

 

[wvmoonangel]

Don’t think they can ever rule out abduction or wandering off until they come up with concrete evidence of something else.

Looking for video footage is just that. Looking for more clues from video footage.

I do know the "Police have said they do not believe the children were abducted, but have not ruled out that the case is suspicious". This was stated in this news article a week ago.
Source: https://www.cbc.ca/lite/story/1.7536905

 

[AnnieOakley123]

The trail cam property is both distances discussed in the thread: an 8+ km drive following dirt roads from Landsdowne Station and a 5 km stretch 'as the crow flies' on the train trail. We don't know why the individual with the trail cam footage spoke to the media about the visit with the RCMP and mentioned that they allegedly said 'they wish they had come around sooner'. From what I've seen, it has been an incredibly thorough investigation involving over a dozen agencies. What mystifies me and so many others is that DM and MBM do not appear to be masterminds capable of hatching a perfect plan to disappear two children without a trace (if you've seen the birthday video with Lilly, you know she is a screamer and the bus driver also suggested she was very spirited, throwing her boot at him). Two children, ages 6 + 4, in boots and a pull-up would also not wander off and vanish into thin air with zero evidence if they had wandered off as suggested in the moments before the 911 call and the half-hour it took for police to arrive. Immediately hiding when the stepdad is calling is something kids would do, but not for hours upon days with searchers all about. Spring on the East Coast is miserable: damp, cold, insanely buggy, ticks, black flies, wet ... inhospitable for young children.

Never say never, but this area of Nova Scotia is sparsely populated and remote, and stranger abductions in Canada are extremely rare, at almost 0. In 2024, 24 of 32,680 missing children in all of Canada were stranger abductions or 0.07%.