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

[TMich6811]

Sadly, I believe the children are probably in water. There is plenty of areas where the children could have slipped or fell into water downhill from the home. If the boy is Autistic, he could be attracted to water like many with Autism. Recently in separate instances in Northeast Florida, 2 autistic children wandered from their home and both were found in retention ponds in the apartment complexes where they lived. The boy could have went in and the sister tried to pull him out. They were both wearing mud boots, which when filled with water, would have pulled them under.

Areas in red are the higher possibility, yellow across the road a lesser probability.
View attachment 584557

These areas around the home are very inaccessible to search boats. They would need divers and even then the search would be difficult especially if the water is murky.

They probably scaled back the search to bring in HRD K9's. You want to run the dog's without any distractions. HRD K9's can pick up human remains in water. The gases and scents bubble up to the surface. If they get hits around a water area, they will bring in water search teams and divers to that area. With as small as the children are, a float cycle is not a sure thing.

As awful as this scenario is, it’s one of the least traumatic options

 

[Fabled Automatic]

Does anyone know if they have had cadaver dogs at that home yet? I know damn well they should.

Dogs, yes. I don't know that they were specifically cadaver dogs.

Police dogs have been assisting in the search, and it's also the first time the Nova Scotia Guard — a provincially organized volunteer group — has been deployed.

'Nobody is giving up yet': N.S. crews spend 5th day searching for missing children

 

[Skigh]

This whole, not getting up yet, feeding the baby in the bedroom until 10am bit. This makes perfect sense with a baby under, say, 3 months. Ever tried to contain a 16 month old in a bedroom until 10am to sleep because you’re exhausted and have been up all night? It’s not easy.

Most 16 month olds are walking. They aren’t babies, they are toddlers. They are at the very least crawling and pulling up and possibly climbing out of playpens. They wake at 5:30/6am and have their first nap around 10am. They probably have a milk feed (cup of cow’s milk or a breastfeed) but they also eat breakfast and possibly another cup of milk and a snack before that 10am nap. They tend to need a lot of entertainment in those 4 hours. They don’t just feed and sleep constantly like a newborn. Despite my best hopes, none of mine have ever allowed me to stay in my bedroom until 10am at that age. JMO

Surely she would have had to have been up to change the toddlers nappy .
I agree that a 16 month year old would want to be up and about not confined to bed for hours in the morning and would only need milk as a supplement not as a substitute for regular meals.

 

[Notascreenname]

This whole, not getting up yet, feeding the baby in the bedroom until 10am bit. This makes perfect sense with a baby under, say, 3 months. Ever tried to contain a 16 month old in a bedroom until 10am to sleep because you’re exhausted and have been up all night? It’s not easy.

Most 16 month olds are walking. They aren’t babies, they are toddlers. They are at the very least crawling and pulling up and possibly climbing out of playpens. They wake at 5:30/6am and have their first nap around 10am. They probably have a milk feed (cup of cow’s milk or a breastfeed) but they also eat breakfast and possibly another cup of milk and a snack before that 10am nap. They tend to need a lot of entertainment in those 4 hours. They don’t just feed and sleep constantly like a newborn. Despite my best hopes, none of mine have ever allowed me to stay in my bedroom until 10am at that age. JMO

My own opinion is that no one in that room was eating any food.

My 7 and 4 year old would have have been nagging me for breakfast way before 10am. So based on the info we have so far that the parents didn't get out of the bedroom that morning until 10 begs the question of were the children not starving by then for their breakfast?

 

[FansBlowing]

Children at 7 and 4 years old are capable of opening cereal boxes and pouring milk for their own breakfast.

 

[Lucy6226]

It is concerning that neither adult changed him in the morning if he did wear an overnight pull up.

That I do agree with. Diaper/Pull Up rash can be nasty if left for a while.

It could be that he was dry most nights but wore them to contain any accidents. Also pull ups can be pulled down to use the toilet/potty. So it wasn't necessarily wet. But agreed it does raise questions of that morning's actions. All moo.

 

[Snoop Sister]

Does anyone know if they have had cadaver dogs at that home yet? I know damn well they should.

As of yesterday at the press conference, cadaver dogs have not been part of the search.

STAFF SERGEANT - So, the cadaver dogs could be the next step in terms of when we talk about scaling back, that could be another option that we now look at using, and getting back to that point; that decision was made based on a lot of factors, and if we thought they were alive right now, we'd still be out there.

RCMP press conference: Search for missing N.S. children scaled back

The Nova Scotia RCMP says the search for two missing children in Pictou County will be scaled back. Here’s the full press conference from RCMP on May 7, 2025.

www.ctvnews.ca

 

[FansBlowing]

Also, the four year old could probably change his own pull ups. Or with help from his older sister. It would be helpful if we knew their regular morning routine. Seems like it is not unusual for these kids to get up in the morning, make their own breakfast, and then go into the fenced in backyard to play by themselves.

 

[shetalksinstereo]

<modsnip: Quoted post was removed>

... it is possible the baby is still being BF up til age two. I've known mothers do so even longer!

or could have just been snuggling with a bottle?

The whole thing about 2 adults not definitively laying eyes on little children by 10am is troubling though. Like someone said, the little ones got up and fended for themselves for possibly 3 or 4 hours?

We always talked about putting an alarm on our sliding door at our cottage if we had children, because they do open/close quietly vs. a screen door and then a door.

 

[Snoop Sister]

It appears the search today will include divers to search Landsdowne Lake.


“Mr. Martell said he understands why search and rescue teams were sent home on Wednesday. “I mean they can only go for so long. Everybody needs sleep. The searchers are probably exhausted,” he said.

Later, he told The Globe that police advised him that they were going to bring in RCMP divers Thursday to search nearby Lansdowne Lake.”

RCMP say it’s unlikely two children missing in rural Nova Scotia are alive as search efforts are scaled back

Search and rescue teams had been scouring woodland areas after siblings went missing from their home in Pictou County more than six days ago

www.theglobeandmail.com

 

[Fabled Automatic]

Does anyone know the exact areas that have been searched thus far? I imagine the area surrounding the main property, obviously, but I'm curious about the surrounding roads. Martell stated that when he found them missing, he drove around some of the local roads searching for them. I'm curious if LE have searched those roads.

 

[AnnieOakley123]

Does anyone know the exact areas that have been searched thus far? I imagine the area surrounding the main property, obviously, but I'm curious about the surrounding roads. Martell stated that when he found them missing, he drove around some of the local roads searching for them. I'm curious if LE have searched those roads.

100% they have if you understand the scope of the operation. From the RCMP website:
This search has included many agencies, including volunteer ground search and rescue teams from all surrounding areas and New Brunswick, the Civil Air Search and Rescue Association, the Nova Scotia Guard, the Salvation Army, the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre, Department of Natural Resources Air Services, Nova Scotia Public Safety and Field Communications, Canada Heavy Urban Search and Rescue Task Force 5, and several RCMP units, including Police Dog Services, drone operators, and our Major Crime Unit.

"It has been an all-hands-on-deck effort, using every available resource and tool," says Staff Sergeant Curtis MacKinnon, District Commander for Pictou County District RCMP. "We're transitioning from a full-scale search to searches in smaller, more specific areas; we'll be retracing our steps to ensure all clues have been found."

Since the search began on May 2, it has been concentrated in the Gairloch Rd. area and has covered four square kilometres of heavily wooded, rural terrain. Up to 160 trained volunteer searchers, along with many others, have been involved in the search each day. Tens of thousands of search hours have been dedicated to scouring the area, and GSAR has confirmed that over 100 tracks have been laid using GPS and grid searches.

Update: Multi-agency search for missing children in Pictou County scales back | Royal Canadian Mounted Police

 

[ilovepierre]

Is it normal for a four-year-old to be wearing a diaper of any kind, unless they had medical issues?

If not, has there been any explanation of why Jack was wearing one?

Yes, perfectly normal. Some children take longer to potty train than others. My brother was wearing diapers/pull ups until age 5-but mostly at night. During the day, he wore underwear

 

[shetalksinstereo]

Just because they haven’t been found doesn’t mean they aren’t in the woods. Time and time again we see cases where remains are found years later in areas that were searched. It’s not foolproof.

Like the little boy in France

 

[tlcya]

"If we thought they were alive right now we'd still be out there," MacKinnon told reporters at the search command centre.
[snip]
Search leader Amy Hansen said the effort of recent days has been exhausting. "We know that everything has been so thoroughly searched that it's time to scale back," she said.
[snip]
"When it comes to a missing person … we will automatically consider what evidence is pointing us toward (whether it is) suspicious in nature," McCamon said.

"We're working closely with the family, and we'll pursue every avenue."
[snip]
“I’ve been 100 per cent co-operating. I gave them my (smart)phone, I offered them drug tests. I offered them lie detector tests. I offered them everything,” he said.

“I wasn’t treated as a suspect or anything like that.”
N.S. police scale back search for two children, say little chance they are alive

 

[Chimera]

"If we thought they were alive right now we'd still be out there," MacKinnon told reporters at the search command centre.
[snip]
Search leader Amy Hansen said the effort of recent days has been exhausting. "We know that everything has been so thoroughly searched that it's time to scale back," she said.
[snip]
"When it comes to a missing person … we will automatically consider what evidence is pointing us toward (whether it is) suspicious in nature," McCamon said.

"We're working closely with the family, and we'll pursue every avenue."
[snip]
“I’ve been 100 per cent co-operating. I gave them my (smart)phone, I offered them drug tests. I offered them lie detector tests. I offered them everything,” he said.

“I wasn’t treated as a suspect or anything like that.”
N.S. police scale back search for two children, say little chance they are alive

Bbm.
That's (black bolded) a bit depressing.
The red bolded is good, though.

I do wonder if the dogs found the kid's scent trail anywhere leading away from the property ?
If they walked away, there should've been something-- barring rain of course.
Imo.

 

[Ontario Mom]

I can't even imagine what mom & stepdad, and all the family members who love those wee little kids are feeling right now. My heart goes out to them.

 

[Ontario Mom]

Bbm.
That's (black bolded) a bit depressing.
The red bolded is good, though.

I do wonder if the dogs found the kid's scent trail anywhere leading away from the property ?
If they walked away, there should've been something-- barring rain of course.
Imo.

I've followed enough cases here over the last decade to know that search dogs don't always pick up a scent, and aren't always as helpful as everyone hopes. It's just the way it is.

 

[ttjo]

<modsnip - quoted post was removed>
I wonder if it was a bedtime pull up in case of nighttime accidents? That could give you more information.

 

[Snoop Sister]

It is concerning that neither adult changed him in the morning if he did wear an overnight pull up.

Do you have a link indicating that neither adult changed him?