Searchers spend 4th day scouring Pictou County for missing children

Aly Thomson · CBC News

· Posted: May 05, 2025 11:07 AM EDT | Last Updated: 11 minutes ago

A councillor successful the portion of agrarian Nova Scotia wherever 2 children person gone missing says the past 4 days person been "incredibly tough" on the full community, arsenic searchers continued to scour wooded areas successful Pictou County connected Monday.

Lily Sullivan, 6, and Jack Sullivan, 4, were past seen Friday greeting astatine their location connected Gairloch Road successful Lansdowne Station, astir 20 kilometres southwest of New Glasgow. RCMP accidental they received a telephone astir 10 a.m.

Police and hunt and rescue agencies person been combing the country ever since for the children, who they judge wandered disconnected from their home. They've asked the nationalist to enactment distant arsenic trained searchers conduct their work.

Donald Parker, a councillor with the Municipality of Pictou County, said that has been pugnacious connected galore members of the community who conscionable privation to help. But it's important to perceive to the authorities, helium said.

"Everybody successful the assemblage is acrophobic and worried, but we're each hoping for the champion here," said Parker, who has been visiting the hunt sites each day. "It's hard connected the full community.… It's incredibly tough."

About 160 people were inactive doing their enactment Sunday contempt a rainy forecast that made for immoderate challenging hunt conditions. RCMP person said searchers located what could be a footprint on Saturday and expanded their hunt effort successful that area.

On Monday, RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Carlie McCann said the hunt continued overnight.

"Searchers are diligently keeping way of which circumstantial sections of the crushed person been covered, and are applying their specialized skills to let the searchers connected country to enactment safe," said McCann successful an email.

Meanwhile, the stepfather of the children said helium wants authorities to grow their hunt to show the New Brunswick borderline and adjacent airports successful lawsuit the children were abducted.

Daniel Martell, who has been successful a narration with the children's parent for 3 years, said he feels the constabulary effect was not swift capable and that much resources should person been made available.

He 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 neither she nor her member went to schoolhouse past week week.

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

"If anybody retired determination has anything, travel guardant now," said Martell on Monday successful an interrogation extracurricular the location wherever the children went missing.

Martell said 2 footwear tracks were recovered adjacent his home, arsenic good arsenic different nearby, and that is the lone grounds authorities person uncovered truthful far.

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

"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."

Maj. Daniel Roode of the Salvation Army said his enactment has been providing breakfast, luncheon and dinner to the various agencies progressive successful the hunt since Saturday.

"We're going afloat tilt," said Roode from a room successful Westville, N.S., adding arsenic galore arsenic 150 searchers were getting a hearty stew for luncheon connected Monday.

"We anticipation to spot searchers and constabulary and responders good fed … but we're hoping astir of each that immoderate answers volition beryllium recovered and astir of each that those children would beryllium recovered harmless and sound."

Anyone with accusation astir the children is urged to telephone Pictou County District RCMP astatine 902-485-4333.