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

[Twistinginthewind]

But even if they hid somewhere, wouldn't they have been tracked by the searchers? Did they use dogs? I haven't found a clear answer on that yet.

Good point, search & rescue teams with tracking dogs were employed around their property, and their scent(s?) freshly on the ground leaving the property were not detected by tracking dogs in their environs within a certain distance.

So if they did run off and hide somewhere, it would have to have been beyond where LE searched and with search dogs employed.

MSM article from May 21, RS&BBM:

"As search and rescue crews once again depart a rural Nova Scotia community without finding two children who disappeared more than two weeks ago, a retired RCMP dog handler says it is baffling the siblings are still missing after such wide-scale searches.

Lilly Sullivan, 6, and brother Jack Sullivan, 4, have been missing since May 2, when police received a 911 call reporting they had wandered away from their home in Lansdowne Station, a sparsely populated area about 140 kilometres northeast of Halifax.

The children's disappearance set off a massive operation that included upward of 160 ground search and rescue officials, dog teams, drones and helicopters.

But after six days of scouring the heavily wooded areas surrounding the siblings' home, covering 5.5 square kilometres, there was no sign of the children and RCMP announced the search was being scaled back."

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/it-s-just-really-strange-retired-dog-handler-weighs-in-on-search-for-missing-n-s-children-1.7538842

** 5.5 square kilometers = 2.12 square miles ** Convert square km to square miles - Area Conversions

 

[FromGermany1]

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TOP STORY​

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Grandmother of Jack and Lilly Sullivan calls for public inquiry​

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The latest: Belynda Gray says Nova Scotia's child protection system needs to lift the veil of secrecy around how the provincial government responded to concerns about the home life of her grandchildren, Jack, 4, and Lilly, 6. She also says the RCMP need to explain how they handled the early stages of their investigation.​

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Context: Two Nova Scotia children, Jack and Lilly Sullivan, have been missing since May. The Globe and Mail previously reported that a child protection worker visited the children's home in Lansdowne, N.S., in the months before their disappearance, after concerns were raised by someone at their school, but the findings of that investigation are shielded by privacy laws.​

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RCMP: The Mounties have consistently said they have not uncovered any evidence the children were abducted, and stand by a decision not to issue an Amber Alert when the children first went missing.

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Newsletter from Globe & Mail, August 11th 2025​

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[Serononin]

Yes it could be significant or it could not be. Especially with more than one child in a household, play can become quite boisterous. Even the yard was indicative of rough and tumble area of child play, certainly never meeting approval for a child safe playground if regulated. So for me a few black eyes is not highly suspicious in isolation, without other indications of violence occurring within the household.

Even then there’s the question of who was responsible?

Actually I’m having an hard time imaging an adult purposely slugging a child in the face, in the way adults having fistfights end up with black eyes. I was under the impression that adults who are violent with children harm them in areas where the bruises can be hidden from sight (arms, legs, torso) but perhaps I’m naive as I’m unfamiliar with the topic.

JMO

True, it could just be a coincidence, that the children play roughly and bruise easily. But in this case the black eyes aren't in isolation, they're in the context of children whose school staff were concerned enough about their home life to call CPS, and who then both disappeared in suspicious circumstances. Even putting all the rumours aside and focusing only on the known facts, the black eyes are part of an overall picture which is absolutely suspicious

 

[Sarahlou]

True, it could just be a coincidence, that the children play roughly and bruise easily. But in this case the black eyes aren't in isolation, they're in the context of children whose school staff were concerned enough about their home life to call CPS, and who then both disappeared in suspicious circumstances. Even putting all the rumours aside and focusing only on the known facts, the black eyes are part of an overall picture which is absolutely suspicious

Exactly, it's everything combined.
I strongly feel these kids didn't leave the property alive (if they were in fact there that day)
I find it hard to believe a word of what the adults on that property have said about the morning the kids disappeared.

 

[su5ie]

The one thing I wonder about Jack and Lilly is, if they did indeed go out into the woods that morning, what would they have done if they realized DM was looking for them? Would they have gone to him?, or might they have been afraid he would be angry and they would be punished? Could they have deliberately hidden themselves even from strangers shouting for them? And out of fear of punishment, they succumbed to the elements in some hidden place? JMO

This is my hypothesis. If its a case that they wandered into a area they were not usually allowed I fear DM calling them ,they ran with fright

 

[su5ie]

I wonder did Searchers fan out in a circular fashion from the trailer around the circumference of the property and surrounding forestry or did they just go toward the pipeline and to the larger area where the Fort is

 

[Chimera]

Another element to the story— until October 15th, or weather conditions change, here in NS we’re currently banned from activities in the woods due to the threat of forest fires. (Even woods on our own properties.)

“Many people were caught off guard when the province temporarily banned all woods work without a permit on Tuesday in order to mitigate the risk of sparking forest fires.

Anyone caught camping, hiking, fishing or using vehicles such as ATVs in the woods could face a $25,000 fine. Mining and forestry companies have also been told to stop work and apply for permits in order to continue.”

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/n-s-natural-resources-swamped-with-requests-for-permits-to-work-in-the-woods-1.7603420

The police said they were going to search more mines in the area, and I’m guessing it won’t impact that. But it directly affects the residents of the Lansdowne area and any searches or other activities that may be going on.

Thanks for posting this !

I think other msm sources also mentioned a forest restriction due to the threat of fires ?
About the temp. hiking/working halt in the woods... hopefully this doesn't apply to any LE who are continuing the search for these babies.
Imo.

 

[Chimera]

I wish the RCMP would say something, anything

Agreed !
Hope this case wasn't mishandled in any way from the beginning.
Sad that we're this far in, and still nothing.

Also waiting for their bio mom to say something herself or through a spokesperson.

The bio paternal grandma has been vocal and doing as much as she can !
Imo.

 

[Serononin]

Exactly, it's everything combined.
I strongly feel these kids didn't leave the property alive (if they were in fact there that day)
I find it hard to believe a word of what the adults on that property have said about the morning the kids disappeared.

I've come to feel very similarly about this case to how I feel about the JonBenét Ramsey case - I think the parents are the most likely suspects, but I couldn't for the life of me tell you which parent did what or why they did it

 

[MistyWaters]

Agreed !
Hope this case wasn't mishandled in any way from the beginning.
Sad that we're this far in, and still nothing.

Also waiting for their bio mom to say something herself or through a spokesperson.

The bio paternal grandma has been vocal and doing as much as she can !
Imo.

I can go with the flow! Who knew it would be DM himself to give us the missing puzzle piece by admitting to Lilly having a black eye when she and Jack went missing. All but locating the bodies, please RCMP hurry on it.

 

[Snoop Sister]

I haven’t been on the site for awhile. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem like there has been any major developments in the case.

Additionally, in Canada, there is no way CPS will release any protective info about Lilly and Jack to the public.

 

[sunshineray]

I wanted to comment, I used the word ‘acknowledge’ not ‘validate’. The role of police is never to validate anything published in the media. It’s to investigate and solve crimes, something the media isn’t tasked with doing.

Did you notice that much of the G&M article dwelled on the private lives of DM and MBM, very little involved evidence relating to the disappearance of the children. The only connection to solving the crime is purely speculation that one situation might’ve led to another.

Anyway when I wrote ‘acknowledged’ I can imagine the RCMP acknowledging it in a general way, saying what they often say “we deal only with facts and if you don’t hear it from us, then it may not be entirely accurate”.
JMO

I understand. To me if LE were to acknowledge anything being said was correct, that would be a validation.

 

[sunshineray]

I can go with the flow! Who knew it would be DM himself to give us the missing puzzle piece by admitting to Lilly having a black eye when she and Jack went missing. All but locating the bodies, please RCMP hurry on it.

Seems that would be a reason to not have the kids go to school...until it healed. So many unanswered questions but we do know for a fact that the school contacted CS at some point in the not too distant past about the welk-being of Lilly and Jack. That we do know but not what was observed by CS. The biggest clue to come out, IMO and if true, is the vehicle activity in the wee hours of the morning, just hours before they were reported missing.

 

[MistyWaters]

Thinking….this case may be impossible to solve without locating the children’s bodies and the more time that passes, the less likelihood they will be in a condition to indicate the cause of death. Three months, it might already be too late. A black eye nor prior Child Welfare intervention did not cause their deaths, but had the children been found early on there might’ve been autopsy indications of additional deliberate violence to support murder/manslaughter charges. Without that, a conviction of guilty beyond reasonable doubt is not possible based on speculation and innuendo. In Canada our sentences are pitiful as it is, charges for hiding bodies and misleading an investigation will not result in throwing away the key especially if there’s extenuating circumstances involved.

A possibility is if DM or MBM testified against each other. Often this specific defense strategy (can’t remember the name) doesn’t result in prosecution because it’s difficult for a jury to determine who’s honest and who’s just out to save their own skin. It’s favours both that a conviction must be based on guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

A good defence attorney could suggest the fivespeed car drove the children away, alive. It could be suggested the children were on the side of the road waiting for the school bus and somebody stopped since “they’d go with anyone”. Or perhaps they indeed innocently wandered into the woods and haven’t been found, Defendants are not required to prove their innocence or even testify. It’s not going to be a slam dunk just because of a black eye.

So now I’m back to seriously wondering if this case will ever be solved.
JMO

 

[su5ie]

Thinking….this case may be impossible to solve without locating the children’s bodies and the more time that passes, the less likelihood they will be in a condition to indicate the cause of death. Three months, it might already be too late. A black eye nor prior Child Welfare intervention did not cause their deaths, but had the children been found early on there might’ve been autopsy indications of additional deliberate violence to support murder/manslaughter charges. Without that, a conviction of guilty beyond reasonable doubt is not possible based on speculation and innuendo. In Canada our sentences are pitiful as it is, charges for hiding bodies and misleading an investigation will not result in throwing away the key especially if there’s extenuating circumstances involved.

A possibility is if DM or MBM testified against each other. Often this specific defense strategy (can’t remember the name) doesn’t result in prosecution because it’s difficult for a jury to determine who’s honest and who’s just out to save their own skin. It’s favours both that a conviction must be based on guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

A good defence attorney could suggest the fivespeed car drove the children away, alive. It could be suggested the children were on the side of the road waiting for the school bus and somebody stopped since “they’d go with anyone”. Or perhaps they indeed innocently wandered into the woods and haven’t been found, Defendants are not required to prove their innocence or even testify. It’s not going to be a slam dunk just because of a black eye.

So now I’m back to seriously wondering if this case will ever be solved.
JMO

Great Post

 

[abanddb123]

I do wonder how many mines are around to check

 

[Muddy K]

... admitting to Lilly having a black eye when she and Jack went missing.

Snipped by me for focus. IMO, this information possibly makes the video footage of the family out shopping a day or two before Jack and Lilly were reported missing critically important. Wish we could see it.

 

[Sjöberg]

Without that, a conviction of guilty beyond reasonable doubt is not possible based on speculation and innuendo.

And the worst part is, while the black eye and CPS really do not bode well, it also really does not hint at just one possibility, but several:
* Did the mother hurt and kill them, along with ongoing abuse?
* Did the father hurt and kill them, along with ongoing abuse?
* Did both the parents hurt and kill them, along with ongoing abuse?
* Did the kids really run away, because of ongoing abuse and/or were too scared to not hide from the searchers, as they were afaid of punishment?
* Did the kids get into an accident, as they were not properly cared for and protected?
* Were the kids hurt by some other relative, as they were not properly cared for and protected, with possible ongoing abuse?
* Were the kids snatched by an opportunistic someone (known figure or stranger), because they were well-known to be left alone for longer periods and possibly easily manipulated due to ongoing abuse?

Pretty much just a strange man they been living with for a couple of years.

Where are you from? I must say, this is a very culture-specific thing to say and to me, personally, very surprising.
We all have different cultural contexts and personal experiences, so these things differ. In my opinion, the "sperm donor", who has had zero contact with their kids, is not their father, but a sperm donor. While the father figure they have lived with for all the life they have memories for, is factually their (step)father. It is not like there were 50 different men in and out of their lives, in that case it would be complicated. But in this case, it is pretty clear to me he is their (step)father at this point in time. The man figure they actually lived with and that actually parented them. It is possible he was abusive and bad (maybe all along, maybe since having his biological kid). And it is also possible he was a realtively good one (as good as he knew how to be).

There are great bio dads. There are abusive bio dads. There are great step dads. There are abusive stepdads. There are many cases, where people live for years and decades, thinking they are biologically related and then it turns out they're not.

 

[MistyWaters]

Snipped by me for focus. IMO, this information possibly makes the video footage of the family out shopping a day or two before Jack and Lilly were reported missing critically important. Wish we could see it.

The video might support child abuse charges if it can be proven who deliberately caused the black eye. It would be interesting to know why that hasn’t happened.

But as a black eye isn’t a fatal injury resulting in death, it’s not evidence the child was murdered. I realize people would like to believe it might prove another violent scenario likely occurred later but that’s speculation, not evidence, and speculation is not allowed to support a conviction. Generally speaking, that’s a good thing.
JMO

 

[Muddy K]

The video might support child abuse charges if it can be proven who deliberately caused the black eye. It would be interesting to know why that hasn’t happened.

But as a black eye isn’t a fatal injury resulting in death, it’s not evidence the child was murdered. I realize people would like to believe it might prove another violent scenario likely occurred later but that’s speculation, not evidence, and speculation is not allowed to support a conviction. Generally speaking, that’s a good thing.
JMO

I was more thinking the video footage might be objective confirmation that something DM said is true. I have found him to be credible, though that may leave me in the minority at this point.