Jack & Lilly Sullivan

Status:

Open

Jurisdiction:

Nova Scotia Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP)

Missing From:

Lansdowne Station, Nova Scotia

Reward:

up to $150,000

via Government of Nova Scotia

Not from STC, Conditions and restrictions apply

Summary:

Jack Sullivan, a 4-year-old boy, and his 6-year-old sister Lilly disappeared from their rural home on Gairloch Road in Lansdowne Station, Nova Scotia, on the morning of May 2, 2025. Despite an extensive search involving RCMP, ground search teams, helicopters, drones, and cadaver dogs, along with numerous investigative leads, the children remain missing. Authorities have not ruled out suspicious circumstances but have found no evidence of abduction.

Vital Statistics

Circumstances of Disappearance:

On the morning of May 2, 2025, Jack and his sister Lilly were at their mobile home in Lansdowne Station with their mother Malehya Brooks-Murray, stepfather Daniel Martell, and younger sibling Meadow. According to statements, both Lilly and Jack had been kept home from school because Lilly had a cough. The family had returned from grocery shopping on April 30 by 10:19 p.m. and spent April 30-May 1 at home. On the morning of May 2, Brooks-Murray and Martell reported hearing the children inside their home, but when the mobile home went silent, they realized the children were missing. At approximately 10:00 a.m., Brooks-Murray called 911 to report Jack and Lilly missing, stating their boots were gone and believing they had wandered away. Martell told officers he had searched for the children by driving around and running into the woods for hours. At the time he was last seen, Jack was believed to be wearing blue rubber boots with dinosaur print, black Under Armour jogging pants, and a pull-up diaper. At 12:25 p.m. on May 2, the RCMP issued a public statement about the disappearance. By 4 p.m. on May 2, family members found a pink blanket (belonging to Lilly) in the woods about one kilometer from the home, though a tracking dog failed to detect a scent trail. On May 4, police found another piece of the pink blanket in a garbage bag near the family home.

Additional Details:

Extensive search efforts were undertaken immediately following the disappearance. From May 2-7, police and volunteer crews conducted a comprehensive search using heat-seeking drones, helicopters, police divers, and ground search teams involving approximately 160 people. The initial ground search was scaled back on May 7 after no trace of the children was found and authorities indicated there was little chance they could have survived that long in the woods. Additional searches were conducted May 17-19 and subsequent months. By April 2026, searches had covered approximately 40 kilometers with cadaver dogs and included underwater recovery teams checking bodies of water in the area. Police investigation has included 106 formal interviews (as of April 2026), with polygraph testing administered to family members. Jack's parents, Daniel Martell and Malehya Brooks-Murray, both took polygraph tests on May 12 and were found to be truthful. Brooks-Murray told police on May 3 that the children's biological father, Cody Sullivan, may have taken them to New Brunswick. Police visited Cody Sullivan's home near 3 a.m. on May 3, where he stated he had not seen Jack and Lilly for three years. Investigators obtained video footage from hundreds of hours of surveillance and trail cameras in surrounding areas and reviewed over 8,000 video files. Police sought 12 search warrants between May 16 and July 16, 2025, to seize and examine materials and digital devices. The case has not been reclassified as criminal; however, authorities have 'not ruled out' that the disappearance is suspicious. Court documents unsealed on January 15, 2026, revealed that Brooks-Murray had alleged Martell was physically abusive, though Martell denied these allegations. In January 2026, Daniel Martell was charged with sexual assault, assault, and forcible confinement related to an unnamed adult victim (unrelated to the children's disappearance, according to police). As of October 2025, the Government of Nova Scotia offered a reward of up to $150,000 for information deemed of investigative value. Staff Sgt. Rob McCamon stated in April 2026 that the chances Jack and Lilly are alive are 'very slim.' The case has received significant media attention in Canada and internationally. Volunteer searches continue; in April 2026, a new child-sized boot print was discovered during a search by the volunteer organization Please Bring Me Home.

Case Last Updated:

May 14, 2026