CANADA Canada - Jack, 4 & Lilly Sullivan, 6, Vulnerable, wandered from home 10am, Gairloch Rd, Landsdowne Station, Pictou County, NS, 2 May 2025 #5

[AddyFinch]

I like your thinking... and all of this rings bells. She is terrified of CPS, she is stressed, and she lied due to all of that.
Are they lost, or were they abducted??
If he locked them out or something similar (which can never be proved), he is criminally culpable.
Good thinking!!

 

[FansBlowing]

I feel like his level of cooperation is only to see how much the police know.

There are so many possible theories. The police cannot do anything without evidence. If no evidence, then this will end up a cold case probably.

 

[Ontario Mom]

Giving both parents the benefit of the doubt, presuming neither are/were lying about anything and the horrible morning the kids disappeared exactly the way they both say... my heart just goes out to them, big time. I cannot even imagine what they must feel like right now.

 

[su5ie]

I feel like his level of cooperation is only to see how much the police know.

There are so many possible theories. The police cannot do anything without evidence. If no evidence, then this will end up a

If we run with the hypothesis the two children were abducted by a stranger. We have to believe in coincidence and a big one at that . Because as a previous poster mentioned two worlds would have to literally collide.

The kids were supposed to be in school , even if someone followed the family from grocery shopping the previous day . The perp would have to know they weren't attending school to pounce so early . And the kids wandering into the yard unattended exactly at that moment when they allegedly never did this . I can't see it happening from the yard , the woods prehaps idk

I want to know how and when the fence got broken

I want to know were the kids shouted at regularly or on that morning to be quiet . You know the type of angry shouting that makes kids scared to even cough for fear of repercussions.

I want to know did the kids feel like meadow was the favourite and prehaps felt as some kids do when a parent and step parent have a child together that they weren't wanted or were they jealous. Even if they were . Couldn't have been nice at 3 and 6 to be told meadow needs to sleep so you must remain quiet. When all you want is mammy to come fix your breakfast and change your pull up . Maybe lilly was peeping or coming in and out of the bedroom to see if the parents were approachable to ask to be fed or dressed or whatever

I want to know did jack know how to put on his own Wellington boots or did someone have to always help him . Wellies can be awkward even for us adults hence why kids boots usually have the handles like Jack's and lillys

I also want to know why if Daniel was awake ,why he didn't fix breakfast for a 3 year old ? I thought he did everything for those kids !!!

I want to know where the kids awake at 6.18am to be made aware they weren't going to school ?

And I want to know why they shut the sliding door that morning if they never did ?

Did lilly try bring Jack to the cabin 8n the woods to give mammy and stop daddy the quiet they wanted ?

 

[Slebby]

Running a hypothetical that both DM and MBM possess guilty knowledge…

The children were last seen by someone other than DM and MBM on Thursday pm while grocery shopping with DM. So the window of opportunity for something to have happened to the children at the hands of one or both parents, whether by accident or by criminal intent, is about 12-14 hours, give or take.
Let’s say hypothetically the children met with harm much earlier than they are alleged to have disappeared, possibly even on Thursday night. DM and MBM know they have to inform the school the children will not be coming today, and they need to do so with enough time for the bus driver to be notified not to stop to pick them up. They would not want a curious bus driver popping in to double check on the children. The parents could have had a lot of time to plan out their next steps.

Theoretically, informing the school of their absence could have bought time for DM and MBM to deal with a coverup, including potential disposal of remains. But why did they need to call 911 when they did? Is it possible someone would have noticed them missing by a certain time that day? For example, maybe step-gramma or step-uncle would notice them missing, or someone was expected to come over, for example, J and L’s paternal grandma.

I have tried to consider a scenario where DM is guilty but MBM is not involved. But they both seem to be telling the same story. Both seem to have provided what I see as convenient indicators of abduction. J and L were friendly, would talk to anyone, would be “easy to take”, would go with anyone for food or water or candy, DM even stated there were footprints “pointed at the road”. For me, I see them dropping obvious breadcrumbs intended for LE to follow to a conclusion of abduction.

This is all hypothetical and intended to stimulate discussion of scenarios.

All in my own opinion and speculation.

 

[Dpdan]

I wonder about the silent sliding door. The description sounds to me like it was preexisting knowledge that the door was silent, as in "we never hear the door". I'm not quite sure what I'm getting at here, perhaps someone else can pick up my train of thought! Am I thinking that the children often slipped out? Or someone isn't heard coming in? I don't think I've ever noticed silence or noise from my doors.

I don't think it's neglectful to allow children to get their own breakfast or to play in their own yard unsupervised. I do find it odd that the children don't seem to have been actually unwell enough to miss school, if they weren't even both seen that morning to check their health. However I appreciate others have said they would have given one more day off after illness, particularly on a Friday, so I'm glad of the discussion and different perspectives.

 

[teeby]

I often have a kid home from school who is perfectly well-appearing because it has to be 24h since the last fever/vomit before they can go back--so if they're sick Wednesday and Thursday with a fever and wake up feeling better on Friday, they still can't go to school on Friday. And I wouldn't need to see them to know that they couldn't go in.

 

[AddyFinch]

This is all hypothetical and intended to stimulate discussion of scenarios.
All in my own opinion and speculation.

Stimulated we are!

 

[Slebby]

Stimulated we are!

lol!

 

[su5ie]

I wonder about the silent sliding door. The description sounds to me like it was preexisting knowledge that the door was silent, as in "we never hear the door". I'm not quite sure what I'm getting at here, perhaps someone else can pick up my train of thought! Am I thinking that the children often slipped out? Or someone isn't heard coming in? I don't think I've ever noticed silence or noise from my doors.

I don't think it's neglectful to allow children to get their own breakfast or to play in their own yard unsupervised. I do find it odd that the children don't seem to have been actually unwell enough to miss school, if they weren't even both seen that morning to check their health. However I appreciate others have said they would have given one more day off after illness, particularly on a Friday, so I'm glad of the discussion and different perspectives.

I wonder did they always sleep with door unlocked ? I suppose from an urban setting myself it seems strange not to lock up the home when going to bed . Is this something rural folk do ? With 3 maybe 5 young children in the house . Did they not feel vulnerable if the door was silent?

 

[AddyFinch]

I don't think it's neglectful to allow children to get their own breakfast or to play in their own yard unsupervised. I do find it odd that the children don't seem to have been actually unwell enough to miss school, if they weren't even both seen that morning to check their health. However I appreciate others have said they would have given one more day off after illness, particularly on a Friday, so I'm glad of the discussion and different perspectives.

I actually find it odd that they weren’t allowed to play in a fenced yard.
I had kids &grand kids who would often say I need a mental health day, let me stay home, and I did within reason. Lol. And yes esp after being sick what was one more day esp Fri?
I admit the abduction is a difficult one to figure out…..So we’re back to wandering or murder….
How about fugue state, need evidence to lay charges but can’t find any??

 

[derweezy]

I agree with most here, either they are both involved or neither are involved. I don't believe for a minute that either are capable of covering up evidence. The only way that one of them might be in the dark is if one arranged for the children to be taken without the others knowledge. The scenario that makes the most sense (although still very far-fetched) is that she had help having the children removed from the home and hidden someplace safe to get them away from him, and provide her an opportunity to escape as well, hoping to build a case that he is an unfit father so she can have sole custody....where this falls apart is she is at a safe distance from him and has not made any such claims, and as well there would likely be some charges for her had she fabricated the whole thing and wasted so much money and resources. Has he been able to see his child since the mother left the home?

I feel like the RCMP have a pretty solid understanding of what happened but unfortunately are not able to act at this time.

 

[Firstsnow4]

Theoretically, informing the school of their absence could have bought time for DM and MBM to deal with a coverup, including potential disposal of remains. But why did they need to call 911 when they did? Is it possible someone would have noticed them missing by a certain time that day? For example, maybe step-gramma or step-uncle would notice them missing, or someone was expected to come over, for example, J and L’s paternal grandma.

Bolded and snipped by me. That is a very good point. If they were involved in some kind of coverup why the rush to call 911, they would have had the whole day to sort out incriminating evidence if the children were off sick. Unless as you say they were expecting company that day. JMO.

 

[FansBlowing]

Could they actually have been sick and died from something like Strep? This was in Nova Scotia last year.

His father, Randy Davis, said when Jaydon first fell sick with a fever they were hesitant to take him to the emergency room due to concerns about long waits. “It seemed to be a normal fever,” he said.
Randy said within 48 hours of developing symptoms, his son passed away on March 6. The family later learned he had contracted an aggressive form of strep known as invasive group A streptococcal disease (iGAS).

Nova Scotia child dies from aggressive form of strep, family speaks out | Globalnews.ca

The six-year-old boy died within 48 hours after developing symptoms of invasive group A streptococcal, his father says.

globalnews.ca

 

[ChatteringBirds]

Could they actually have been sick and died from something like Strep?

That kind of tragedy happens. But not to both children on the same night. Plus they were well enough to grocery-shop the day before. And a normal reaction to finding them would have been to call for help. IMO.

 

[MistyWaters]

I agree with most here, either they are both involved or neither are involved. I don't believe for a minute that either are capable of covering up evidence. The only way that one of them might be in the dark is if one arranged for the children to be taken without the others knowledge. The scenario that makes the most sense (although still very far-fetched) is that she had help having the children removed from the home and hidden someplace safe to get them away from him, and provide her an opportunity to escape as well, hoping to build a case that he is an unfit father so she can have sole custody....where this falls apart is she is at a safe distance from him and has not made any such claims, and as well there would likely be some charges for her had she fabricated the whole thing and wasted so much money and resources. Has he been able to see his child since the mother left the home?

I feel like the RCMP have a pretty solid understanding of what happened but unfortunately are not able to act at this time.

Your theory has possibilities. Another hypothetical angle - IF biodad or one of his family members was preparing to commence legal action to primarily place Lilly and Jack under their care, using allegations MBM wasn’t capable of caring for the children adequately. I doubt the courts would rely on the common-in-law husband to be responsible for their wellbeing, rather than a biological relative on the paternal side.
JMO

 

[tarabull]

Is there "skirting" on the mobile??? I hope LE have looked underneath the home...FWIW

 

[RandyMcDonald]

Bolded and snipped by me. That is a very good point. If they were involved in some kind of coverup why the rush to call 911, they would have had the whole day to sort out incriminating evidence if the children were off sick. Unless as you say they were expecting company that day. JMO.

Something very unlikely happened to the children. They may have wandered off into the wilderness and been lost; they may have been harmed by one or both of their parents; they may have been abducted by a third party.

We outsiders do not know. I can make an educated guess that it is pretty unlikely that it is unlikely that the child have been removed by some authority (the mother, the band council) and that this was known to authorities. If it was, then barring some very shocking and surprising turn of events (the kids and mother are in witness protection, maybe?) the authorities would know about this and the search would have stopped.

It is imaginable, I suppose, that some authority was doing this and did not care about the consequences, but this is something that would ha e huge ramifications. If the band council had relocated the children and told no one, for instance, it would face a huge backlash from, among others, band members, if not legal consequences. You would again need some extraordinary reasons to do something so offensive.

 

[MistyWaters]

Something very unlikely happened to the children. They may have wandered off into the wilderness and been lost; they may have been harmed by one or both of their parents; they may have been abducted by a third party.

We outsiders do not know. I can make an educated guess that it is pretty unlikely that it is unlikely that the child have been removed by some authority (the mother, the band council) and that this was known to authorities. If it was, then barring some very shocking and surprising turn of events (the kids and mother are in witness protection, maybe?) the authorities would know about this and the search would have stopped.

It is imaginable, I suppose, that some authority was doing this and did not care about the consequences, but this is something that would ha e huge ramifications. If the band council had relocated the children and told no one, for instance, it would face a huge backlash from, among others, band members, if not legal consequences. You would again need some extraordinary reasons to do something so offensive.

i agree, we don’t know what happened. Just to make one comment, being ‘missing’ is not a crime and so if by a remote chance someone does have care of these children it’s not as if they’re harbouring fugitives or hiding illegal aliens, especially if MBM made the arrangements and had sole custody of the children. It’s curious why the RCMP has never diverged from this being a ‘missing children investigation’.
JMO

 

[Slebby]

Another hypothetical discussion stimulator! The “children wandered into woods or road” option.

When I try to open my mind to the possibility that the children wandered into the woods, or to the roadside, I stumble over a lot of mental roadblocks.
Right away, I am troubled that the children were able to open the sliding door, as these are often heavy. I’m also troubled that it had apparently been a problem but the parents hadn’t come up with a fix, like a lock, or a bell on the door. I’m also troubled that this was the ONE time the kids had managed to close the door, as DM stated he’d yelled at them several times for leaving it open. But assuming the parents are truthful, and the children had gone silent for about 20 minutes, they would have had to be moving very very fast to get as far as they apparently have. This requires me to believe these kids, as soon as they made it out that sliding door, booked it as fast as they could. I have a hard time picturing children that small to be that motivated to get out of the yard and far away, that fast. The parents said the children had gotten out the sliding door before, but they certainly didn’t say anything about the children attempting to make a run for the woods or the road, not anything beyond playing in the yard.

But - If they went into the woods, the terrain would make it hard to get far. I just don’t see 2 little kids agreeing to forge on through the dense forest, with fallen trees, flies, ticks, cold weather. It would stop being fun fast. But let’s say they did. They never dropped a single clue, and managed to elude DM, dozens of searchers, and trained dogs? I personally am amazed at the skill of search dogs, and if those children had gone into the woods, I think the dogs would have picked up on it.
Some have suggested little kids might hide if they’re afraid they’re in trouble. I don’t think 2 children this age, after hours out in a bug infested forest, cold, wet and hungry, would place fear of a scolding ahead of getting home to safety, warmth and food.
But what if they wandered to the roadside?
Here are 2 possibilities. Someone picked them up. Maybe someone who happened by, and saw their chance to harm the children, or sell them. I find the chance of this to be remote, just like the area they lived in is remote. The other option is one or both children were hit by a car. I have a personal hunch that many unsolved missing persons cases are the result of someone accidentally hitting someone with a car, panicking, and disposing of the evidence. So maybe someone hit one or both children. If the children did head to the roadside, I believe “hit by a car” is a more likely scenario than “abducted by a predator who happened by at the exact right moment”. I hope the trained dogs were taken a certain distance down that road in both directions, to sniff out the potential for an accident scene.

And that is my unpacking of the “wandered to woods or to roadside” scenario in this case. I pray they are found and if there is someone responsible, that they are found and justice is served.

All my own opinion and speculation.