CANADA Canada - Jack, 4 & Lilly Sullivan, 6, Vulnerable, wandered from home 10am, Gairloch Rd, Landsdowne Station, Pictou County, NS, 2 May 2025 #7

[ChatteringBirds]

I have thought it too because from day one I haven't believed their stories nor believed those babies left that property alive or if left the property at all.

They could not still be in the home nor close to it, IMO. They would have been located by now, if so.

I believe they may have been hidden/buried out in nature away from the home, though. Thus, dogs are a good idea...

 

[TMich6811]

They could not still be in the home nor close to it, IMO. They would have been located by now, if so.

I believe they may have been hidden/buried out in nature away from the home, though. Thus, dogs are a good idea...

Me too which makes me frustrated at this point because there will be little left to prove they were hidden vs wandered

 

[MistyWaters]

Me too which makes me frustrated at this point because there will be little left to prove they were hidden vs wandered

As with every case on WS, people who’ve been around awhile learn we must change our opinions from time to time depending on how events transpire, especially since we’re only couch detectives with no access to inside the case files. If the children’s bodies are found with no known involvement of foul play, I’d hope taking the high road will continue to occur. Innocent people do not deserve being cast as child killers by the public.

One reason I doubt the bodies were hidden close to home is the culprit would have no control if a searcher happened to discover the children's dead bodies only a day or two after they went missing, obviously indicating foul play rather than wandering away while alive.
JMO

 

[teeby]

They could not still be in the home nor close to it, IMO. They would have been located by now, if so.

I believe they may have been hidden/buried out in nature away from the home, though. Thus, dogs are a good idea...

I don't believe the woods near their house have been searched thoroughly enough to rule out them being tucked away in there. I'm not saying anyone was slacking but it's just so incredibly dense out there and they couldn't search forever because of the weather.

 

[arielilane]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1941797279330861087

 

[arielilane]

If they don’t find anything, it doesn’t mean they’re not there​

Highly trained dogs like these have been operating in the country since 2017, with as many as 11 at one time. Right now, it’s closer to eight that are operational.

Pike mentioned that the only team in Atlantic Canada is in P.E.I., but it is sidelined right now because of medical reasons.

Answering questions about why these dogs are being brought in now instead of earlier, Pike responded:

“We deploy dogs when they’re best suited to the information or the investigation details that we have.”

Tremblay added: “What’s important to remember is that at this time, we don’t have any definitive information to support that the children are deceased, but we have to keep our minds open and look at all the investigative avenues.”

While these dogs are really good at what they do, there are plenty of searches that don’t turn up anything, said Whalen.

“That does not mean to say that there isn’t something there,” Whalen said. “It just means that I wasn’t able to get my dog into the proper area where there was a presence of the odour that he’s been trained to find. And that’s it.”

Latest in the search for Jack and Lilly: RCMP human remains detection dogs heading into the woods

First time police have used RCMP human remains detection in the search for missing kids in Pictou County

www.saltwire.com

Sept 19
Updated 11 hours ago

 

[Sarahlou]

Me too which makes me frustrated at this point because there will be little left to prove they were hidden vs wandered

Well, if their remains are found buried then that would rule out wandering. I find it hard to see them being found though if they are buried. I hope I'm wrong.

 

[su5ie]

I think I've read that poisoning or chronic health conditions can also be detected by testing the bone chemistry. Does anyone have better info on whether that's truly possible?

Hair can be analysed for drugs or exposure to chemicals among other things . The ground can also be tested for evidence a person died at the location versus being placed there after death

Each metre or therein of an area has a certain flora ,pollen spores specific to that minut area so if LE took samples from the elusive two sweaters . It may show a match .

Forensic botanists are fantastic in determining if a body has died naturally in that area or placed there . Holly and Jessica's killer Ian Huntley ( uk ) was caught this way .

Insect analysis is also crucial through life cycle .

And as far as I'm aware bone analysis can also determine a lot . Little Emile from France his skull was found and from forensics it was speculated and I think still under investigation that he came to harm by a family member.

The news of cadaver dogs being brought to the search area couldn't come soon enough and after a weeks break from WS I really welcome this news better late than never . And from information provided by another poster I can understand that as there was fire risks in place which have only recently been lifted , it makes sense to me that the renewed searches are only happening now

 

[Twistinginthewind]

That is what it seems the RCMP are suggesting. Using cadaver dogs has risen to the next step of the missing persons investigation considering the searches were unsuccessful the first time around. They’ve found nothing to suggest homicides occurred.

Cadaver dogs to begin searching for missing Nova Scotia children

RCMP say cadaver dogs will begin searching for two children who went missing in rural northeastern Nova Scotia in May, a step the children’s grandmother says should have happened weeks ago.

www.ctvnews.ca

“He stressed there was “nothing definitive to support the children are deceased.”

Police have already conducted multiple searches covering about 8.5 square kilometres in the heavily wooded areas near the children’s home, assisted by ground search teams and local volunteers. Tremblay said previous searches included dogs that could pick up the scent of a living person, or someone who had recently died.

He called the previous searches thorough, but added that police are now at the stage where they need to consider whether they missed something and that’s where dogs that are specialized in finding the scent of human remains come in.”

Good points all around!

The area around where they disappeared was extremely challenging to search, so it's totally possible and understandable if they "missed something" during their searches before, working in such a remote and very vast, rough terrain, with no evidence found then to help them target their searches beyond suspected routes of departure from the property they disappeared from.

I'm so so thankful towards RCMP for following their due process and being so dedicated to finding Lilly and Jack.

After their initial comprehensive searches, then running down all the other possibilities through following tips & leads & conducting interviews & looking through video camera footage all over the region, etc., over the last 4 months.

Before during their searches, they were having to do double duty, looking for them possibly alive or deceased. Their new searches can be more focused now, assuming they perished, sadly, which is the next logical step for them to do on the ground searches with cadaver dogs, hopefully with some knowledge of where they could target their searches.

Godspeed to them as they keep at it.

JMO

 

[squareandrabbet]

Me too which makes me frustrated at this point because there will be little left to prove they were hidden vs wandered

What is the likelihood of two siblings of that age wandering together and staying stuck together like Hansel and Gretel, and neither of them being discovered because neither of them knew they were starving or made a loud enough fuss or walked far enough as a result of this so that someone heard them, though?

 

[Bigditch]

Reading all the posts about the new initiative to bring in cadaver dogs to search for Lilly & Jack warms my heart. The unknowing is grueling.

 

[tlcya]

Answering questions about why these dogs are being brought in now instead of earlier, Pike responded:

“We deploy dogs when they’re best suited to the information or the investigation details that we have.”

Tremblay added: “What’s important to remember is that at this time, we don’t have any definitive information to support that the children are deceased, but we have to keep our minds open and look at all the investigative avenues.”
Latest in the search for Jack and Lilly: RCMP human remains detection dogs heading into the woods

I find this somewhat contradictory myself. We deploy dogs when they're best suited to the information details that we have. So they have details that they didn't have earlier on that indicates they are dead? Why because evidence leads them that way or because so much time has passed the children must surely be dead if they had wandered into the woods unassisted?

But the next sentence states they have no information to support the children are or may be dead. But our minds are open to that possibility. Why weren't they open to it before now? What's changed? Apparently nothing. So . . .

MOO it's meaningless CYA doublespeak.

 

[Ontario Mom]

What is the likelihood of two siblings of that age wandering together and staying stuck together like Hansel and Gretel, and neither of them being discovered because neither of them knew they were starving or made a loud enough fuss or walked far enough as a result of this so that someone heard them, though?

I'd guess the likelihood is pretty low, but probably not unheard of.

 

[su5ie]

I'd guess the likelihood is pretty low, but probably not unheard of.

There is no other case I can recall of siblings going missing together by wandering off generally it's an abduction that's documented to have happened or all evidence points to that and in general it is usually by a relative in a custody battle , off the top of my head the Beaumont children are the only ones I can think of right now

I remember at the start looking into the facts surrounding sibling disappearance and it is extremely rare worldwide

 

[MistyWaters]

There is no other case I can recall of siblings going missing together by wandering off generally it's an abduction that's documented to have happened or all evidence points to that and in general it is usually by a relative in a custody battle , off the top of my head the Beaumont children are the only ones I can think of right now

I remember at the start looking into the facts surrounding sibling disappearance and it is extremely rare worldwide

I wonder if autism has a connection? There’s currently a 5-year autistic boy missing in Alberta and the alerts that went out stated he might not respond to others. I don’t know but if a child doesn’t respond to searchers who are calling out I can understand how easy it would be to miss finding them, if not literally stumbling upon. In a wide search area of 6.5 km (about 4 square miles) area that’s not very likely.
JMO

Thread is here:

CANADA Thread 'Canada - Darius Macdougall, 5, Crowsnest Pass, Alberta,Canada 21 Sept 2025'

Sunday at 9:38 PM

Royal Canadian Mounted Police in Alberta

Royal Canadian Mounted Police in Alberta. 132,322 likes · 14,211 talking about this · 14 were here. This account is not monitored 24/7. In case of emergency call 911 or your local detachment. For...

www.facebook.com

#Missing: Darius Macdougall, 5, #Crowsnest Pass. Last seen 2.5 miles south of...

• swanniee11
• Replies: 23
• Forum: Missing Persons Discussion

• 
• 
• 

 

[Chimera]

I'd guess the likelihood is pretty low, but probably not unheard of.

Yes, and LE still have ruled nothing out, except abduction !
I keep wondering and always will : Do LE have information we're not privy to at this time ?
Hoping the dogs can find something.
If the children are buried or concealed, we'll know there was foul play.
Omo.

 

[Ontario Mom]

Yes, and LE still have ruled nothing out, except abduction !
I keep wondering and always will : Do LE have information we're not privy to at this time ?
Hoping the dogs can find something.
If the children are buried or concealed, we'll know there was foul play.
Omo.

Regarding the bolded above the answer is YES, and it's always yes. Every single police investigation has elements, details and information they never release to the public, for the sake of the integrity of the investigation.

It's only after the fact, say in an arrest or a trial, or when a body is located, etc., that we find out just HOW much info LE never released to the public. It's happened in every case I've ever followed in the 50 years I've been following true crime.

 

[su5ie]

Yes, and LE still have ruled nothing out, except abduction !
I keep wondering and always will : Do LE have information we're not privy to at this time ?
Hoping the dogs can find something.
If the children are buried or concealed, we'll know there was foul play.
Omo.

I think it's interesting that it includes the quote , we have no evidence to suggest the children are dead at this time .

Particularly with the unstoppable insinuation/ rumour or rather the unrealistic hope that the children are being hidden for reason unknown

Surely LE are more than aware of that speculation

 

[ChatteringBirds]

There is no other case I can recall of siblings going missing together by wandering off

I can think of cases, including one where they were found playing in the woods 1 or 2 days later by searchers and weren't even scared. It is very possible, but I don't personally feel the evidence supports it in this case.

 

[Bigditch]

we have no evidence to suggest the children are dead at this time .

I thought that wording strange also.