224 Days Later: Mystery Deepens in Disappearance of Siblings Lilly and Jack Sullivan from Rural Nova Scotia Home
Lansdowne Station, Nova Scotia – December 15, 2025 – As the calendar marks exactly 224 days since six-year-old Lilly Sullivan and her four-year-old brother Jack vanished from their rural home in Pictou County, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) continue an intensive investigation with no major breakthroughs. The siblings, last confirmed seen on May 1, 2025, were reported missing the following morning, May 2, sparking one of Canada’s most perplexing missing persons cases.
The children lived in a mobile home on Gairloch Road with their mother, Malehya Brooks-Murray, stepfather Daniel Martell, and infant sister Meadow. According to initial reports, the family claimed Lilly and Jack wandered off through a sliding back door while the adults were in another room. Extensive ground searches involving hundreds of volunteers, drones, helicopters, and cadaver dogs covered dense wooded areas and waterways but yielded no trace of the children.
RCMP have stated there is “no evidence of abduction,” yet the case remains under the Major Crime Unit. Corporal Guillaume Tremblay noted in updates that “all scenarios are being considered,” with over 800 tips received and scrutinized. A $150,000 reward offered by the Nova Scotia government in October 2025 for investigative information remains unclaimed.
Recent court documents, partially redacted and released in August, provide glimpses into the probe. Polygraph tests were administered to family members, including the biological father Cody Sullivan (who passed and has had no contact for years) and others. Forensic testing on items like a pink blanket belonging to Lilly – found in pieces near the home and in trash – proved inconclusive.
Neighbors reported hearing a vehicle coming and going multiple times the night before the disappearance, but RCMP review of surveillance and trail camera footage from surrounding properties found no corroborating evidence of unusual activity. One resident handed over five days of trail cam video to police, covering April 27 to May 3, but authorities have not disclosed findings.
The last public sighting was confirmed via store surveillance in New Glasgow on May 1, showing the children with family. No footage or witnesses place them elsewhere after that.
The community of Lansdowne Station, a remote hamlet with poor cell service, has been profoundly affected. Memorials with flowers and toys appear sporadically, and online discussions speculate on everything from accidental wandering to foul play. Family members, including paternal grandmother Belynda Gray, have expressed frustration over limited access to information.
Experts highlight anomalies: young children vanishing without trace in familiar terrain, no cries for help heard, and the rapid scaling back of searches after just days. Child protection concerns predating the disappearance have surfaced in reports, adding layers to the fractured family dynamics.
As winter sets in, renewed volunteer searches in November turned up unrelated items like a child’s T-shirt and tricycle, deemed irrelevant. RCMP collaborate with units across provinces and national missing persons centers, emphasizing a “deliberate and coordinated” approach.
The disappearance has drawn international attention, underscoring vulnerabilities in rural child safety. Lilly, described as outgoing, and quiet Jack remain the focus of pleas for information.
Anyone with details is urged to contact the Northeast Nova RCMP Major Crime Unit at 902-896-5060 or anonymously via Crime Stoppers.
The Sullivan family and Pictou County await answers in a case that refuses to fade.
