'Nobody is giving up yet': Search for missing N.S. children enters 5th day

Aly Thomson · CBC News

· Posted: May 06, 2025 6:42 AM EDT | Last Updated: 9 minutes ago

Searchers continued to scour a agrarian Nova Scotia assemblage overnight Monday for 2 children who are believed to person wandered distant from their location successful Pictou County astir 5 days ago.

Lily Sullivan, 6, and Jack Sullivan, 4, were past seen Friday greeting astatine their location connected Gairloch Road successful Lansdowne Station, N.S., astir 20 kilometres southwest of New Glasgow.

Police and rescue agencies person been combing wooded areas for the children, who they judge wandered off. They've asked the nationalist to enactment distant arsenic trained searchers behaviour their work.

"It has been a fewer days, but that has not dampened the hopes of the [search] teams and the constabulary who are present trying to get these kids home," RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Carlie McCann told reporters connected Monday afternoon.

McCann said drones and specially trained crushed hunt and rescue crews would beryllium progressive successful the hunt effort astatine night. She said constabulary canine services could besides beryllium used.

Robert Parker, the warden of the Municipality of Pictou County, said everyone is hoping and praying for bully news, but arsenic the days pass, "we're wondering what's going to hap next."

He described the temper successful the agrarian region of astir 43,000 radical arsenic "tense."

"Nobody is giving up yet," Parker told CBC's Information Morning Nova Scotia connected Tuesday morning. "These children person astir go everybody's children successful this county."

Parker noted that it's quality quality to leap to conclusions, but helium urged the nationalist to temper their comments, particularly connected societal media.

"There's ever radical who privation to accidental thing that's hurtful," he said. "We person to retrieve kindness."

Daniel Martell, the stepfather of the children, said the past clip helium saw the children helium and their parent were successful their chamber with their babe connected Friday morning. 

He said Lily came into the chamber respective times and helium could perceive Jack successful the kitchen. The children indispensable person opened the sliding backmost door, which is astir silent, and left, helium said.

"When we noticed that the children were gone, I immediately jumped successful the vehicle, surveyed each the areas, [as] galore ungraded roads, [as] galore culverts arsenic I could and waited for the constabulary to get there," Martell told CBC News.

On Saturday, the children's mother, Malehya Brooks-Murray, spoke to CTV News. 

"I'm conscionable staying arsenic hopeful arsenic possible, I privation them home, I privation to clasp them and I privation them home," she told CTV.

She said she appreciates the immense hunt effort but said she has been pushing for an Amber Alert to beryllium sent.

"Not conscionable that they could perchance beryllium abducted — which it is simply a anticipation that they could person been — but conscionable an alert to fto everyone cognize that they are missing."

Police said connected Friday determination is nary grounds the children were abducted, truthful nary Amber Alert was issued. But the RCMP issued a susceptible missing persons alert for Antigonish, Colchester and Pictou counties precocious Saturday afternoon.

Martell said Jack is successful pre-primary and Lily is successful primary. He said they were not astatine schoolhouse connected Friday due to the fact that Lily had a cough, and they were besides location sick from schoolhouse connected Thursday.

He said Jack and Lily are not conscionable siblings — "they're similar champion friends." Jack loves bugs and dinosaurs, and Lily loves "girly things."

A spokesperson for the Chignecto Central Regional Centre for Education confirmed connected Monday that the children be Salt Springs Elementary in Salt Springs.

"During this hard time, the schoolhouse has further enactment unit connected tract acceptable to assistance unit and students with questions and supply calm coping strategies," Jennifer Rodgers wrote successful an email.

"The schoolhouse has besides shared a connection with its families which included a assets usher for parents."