‘How Could the Kids Live Here?’ — Nova Scotia Grandmother Shares Heartbreak Over Missing Grandchildren Lilly and Jack Sullivan

UPPER MUSQUODOBOIT, N.S. — From her quiet home in the Nova Scotia countryside, Belynda Gray can still picture the long, winding road that once brought her closer to her grandchildren — and now only reminds her of unimaginable loss.

The hour-long drive north toward Lansdowne Station, through fields and forests, used to be a familiar route. But for Gray, it now carries a haunting memory.

“I must have passed that house a dozen times,” she said quietly. “I had no idea that was where Lilly and Jack were living.”

The weathered, isolated home — tucked away in the woods of Pictou County — would soon become the center of a heartbreaking mystery.

The Day Everything Changed

It was May 2 when Gray’s world shattered. That morning, she learned that her two grandchildren — six-year-old Lilly Sullivan and her four-year-old brother Jack — had been reported missing from their rural home.

“When I finally got there and saw it for myself, I thought, how could the kids live here?” Gray said, her voice trembling. “It just didn’t look like a place where children should be growing up.”

She said the drive to the property that day felt endless. “Every turn felt heavier. When I saw the police cars, I knew something terrible had happened.”

Lilly and Jack, bright and curious siblings, had vanished without a trace.

Remembering Lilly and Jack

Gray describes her grandchildren with deep affection, her voice softening as she recalls their personalities.

“Lilly was a happy little girl, always laughing, always talking. She loved to dance and twirl,” she said. “Jack was quieter — more thoughtful. He loved bottles, just ordinary bottles. He’d line them up and stare at the colors through the glass.”

“The last time they were here, they were basically babies,” she continued. “Lilly was four. Jack was just starting to walk. It doesn’t feel that long ago.”

Now, she said, “I just want to see their faces again. I just want them home.”

Family Fractures and Distance

Gray is the paternal grandmother of the missing children. Their father, Cody Sullivan, has not been involved in their lives for the past two years, she said.

“Cody made his choices,” Gray said quietly. “He loves his kids, but he hasn’t been there. And that’s been hard to accept.”

The children lived primarily with their mother, Maleyha Brooks-Murray, who had moved to a rural area of Pictou County. Gray said that after the move, it became difficult to stay in touch.

“Maleyha and I used to talk all the time,” Gray explained. “But once she moved, there was no cell service half the time. Weeks could go by without a word.”

Despite the distance, Gray said she believed Brooks-Murray was doing her best. “She loved those kids. I could hear it in her voice every time we spoke,” she said.

A Phone Call Before the Disappearance

Just a few weeks before the children were reported missing, Gray received what would become her last phone call from Brooks-Murray.

“She called out of the blue — cheerful, apologetic,” Gray recalled. “She said, ‘I’m so sorry I haven’t called sooner. I’ve just been busy, but I thought I’d bring the kids by soon for a visit.’”

That visit never came.

“She sounded happy, like things were getting better,” Gray said. “I was looking forward to seeing them — to hugging them again. But then… they were gone.”

The Search and the Silence

Since May, the disappearance of Lilly and Jack Sullivan has gripped Nova Scotia, with search teams, RCMP investigators, and community volunteers scouring dense forest areas and rural roads.

For Gray, the waiting is agony. “You wake up and think, maybe today there’ll be news,” she said. “Then the day ends, and there’s still nothing.”

She says she drives that same road often — the one she once passed without realizing its importance. “Every time I see that house, it feels like it’s watching me back,” she whispered.

Holding on to Hope

In her home in Upper Musquodoboit, photos of Lilly and Jack cover the walls and fridge. There are drawings Lilly once made — hearts, stick figures, and smiling suns — taped next to family pictures that now serve as painful reminders of what’s missing.

“I talk to them every day,” Gray said. “I tell them Nana loves them and that we’re not giving up.”

Her hope remains unbroken, even in the face of unbearable silence.

“You never stop being a grandmother,” she said. “Even when they’re far away, even when you don’t know where they are — that love doesn’t stop.”

A Community That Won’t Forget

Locals in Pictou County have rallied around the Sullivan family, leaving candles, stuffed animals, and handmade signs reading “Bring Them Home.”

“It’s been incredible to see how many people care,” Gray said. “It helps you breathe on the days when it’s hardest to.”

As the search continues, she clings to one belief above all others — that somewhere, somehow, her grandchildren will come home.

“I don’t know how,” she said softly, “but I have to believe they’ll be found. Because that’s what love does — it hopes, even when it hurts.”