HUNTER: Bizarre disappearance of Jack and Lilly Sullivan in Nova Scotia doesn’t make sense

One thing the investigation has revealed is a fractured family emanating from the trailer home north of Halifax

Get the latest from Brad Hunter straight to your inbox

Published Apr 30, 2026  •  Last updated 17 minutes ago  •  3 minute read

Lilly, left, and Jack Sullivan were reporting missing from their home in Lansdowne Station, N.S., on May 2, 2025.

Years ago, it wasn’t unheard of for people to simply pick up and leave. Vanish. Begin life anew.

Article content

In 2026, that’s close to impossible because of hi-tech and modern realities.

Article content

Article content

As the one-year anniversary of the bizarre disappearances of four-year-old Jack Sullivan and his six-year-old sister Lilly in woods near their Nova Scotia home approaches on May 2, answers have been slim.

So far cops have said there is no evidence the siblings were kidnapped, or evidence of a criminal offence of any kind. Clues appear equally scarce.

Over a beer with a detective friend recently, the topic came up. CCTV, mobile pings, and digital footprints make the disappearing act tough to pull off, unlike the 1970s. So what happened?

“If I was involved, I’d definitely be looking very closely at the family,” the detective said, asking not to be identified as he has no involvement in the case. “How did these kids just wander off?”

RCMP Staff-Sgt. Curtis MacKinnon announces that the search for missing Pictou Country children, Lily and Jack Sullivan, is being scaled back on Wednesday, May 7, 2025. Photo by Ryan Taplin /The Chronicle Herald

The veteran investigator said the intense ground searches using helicopters, drones equipped with heat-seeking sensors, police divers and cadaver dogs shows that no stone has been left unturned.

Article content

Article content

Searchers found a few boot prints and pieces of a pink blanket that belonged to Lilly, but other clues have been sparse.

Rare for predator to take two kids

The cop added that one reason he doesn’t believe they were abducted is because it’s very rare a sex predator would snatch two children.

“No one is going to snatch two kids, it doesn’t make sense.

“And the search teams going over the area again and again and they can’t find them? This doesn’t make a whole lot of sense either.”

Lilly Sullivan, age 6, left, and Jack Sullivan, age 4. Photo by RCMP

In missing persons and homicide probes, cops always start at home and work their way outwards. When it’s murder, 90% of the time your killer is mom, dad, brother, sister, aunt, uncle, cousin, son and daughter.

Michael Arntfield, a Western University professor, criminologist and cold case expert, told The Canadian Press that investigators can’t reveal everything they know or they suspect, given that doing so could jeopardize their investigation by tipping off potential suspects.

Article content

“At this level, they’ve got investigators who are of the highest calibre … in terms of criminal intelligence and using all kinds of furtive investigative techniques,” Arntfield said.

“RCMP certainly have exploited these successfully in many cases where the public was kept in the dark the entire time … as a matter of operational necessity.”

Arntfield said he doubts the children wandered away from their home given how dense the surrounding woods they are alleged to have wandered into are. All options are open.

Daniel Martell, the stepfather of missing children Lilly and Jack Sullivan, has been charged with sexual assault and other charges. Photo by Ryan Taplin /The Chronicle Herald

Probe has shown a fractured family

One thing the investigation has revealed is a fractured family emanating from the trailer home north of Halifax. Jack and Jilly hadn’t seen their paternal grandmother in 18 months when they vanished. They hadn’t seen their father in several years.

Life was with mom Malehya Brooks-Murray and their stepfather, Daniel Martell, and infant sister, Meadow. The couple has since gone splitsville. The mother told cops not long after her children went missing that both youngsters were on the spectrum and known to roam.

Mother and stepfather have gone silent. Cops confirmed in January that Martell is facing charges of sexual assault, assault, and forcible confinement involving an adult victim.

Now, nearly a year has passed and the RCMP are still working the case hard. For its part, the province has offered a $150,000 reward that leads to the children’s whereabouts.

Paternal grandmother Belynda Gray does not believe Jack and Jilly were kidnapped.

But, she grimly added, “I think it’ll be a miracle if we find them.”

[email protected]

@HunterTOSun

Article content