RCMP Asking for New Tips One Year After Disappearance of Lilly and Jack Sullivan 

The RCMP is appealing to the public for “fact-based” tips related to the disappearance of Lilly and Jack Sullivan, a year after the children were reported missing from their Nova Scotia home.

Investigators have yet to find any proof of kidnapping or other criminal offences since the children went missing from their family’s mobile home more than 100 kilometres north of Halifax last spring, police said. Lilly was six and Jack was four when they went missing.

RCMP Staff-Sgt. Rob McCamon, acting officer in charge of major crime and behavioural sciences, said the investigation has involved “sustained and wide-ranging efforts” over the past year, but has turned up no credible leads.

“At this stage of the investigation, what investigators need are specific, verifiable details to work from,” McCamon said in an April 30 press release. “Rumour and speculation won’t lead us to Lilly and Jack.” 

The children were reported missing by their mother, Malehya Brooks-Murray, just after 10 a.m. on May 2, 2025. She told police she believed the children had wandered off, sparking one of the largest search operations in the province’s history.

But police have not found any answers despite searching a 40-kilometre area around the children’s home on Gairloch Road in Lansdowne Station, and using RCMP human remains detection dogs.

The Mounties have said 11 Nova Scotia RCMP units are working on the case. 

Investigators have sifted through the phone records and banking information of those closest to the children, formally interviewed 106 individuals, and administered polygraphs, McCamon said. Officers have also evaluated 1,191 tips, reviewed thousands of hours of footage from surveillance and trail cameras, and worked through 1,534 investigative tasks.

Multiple investigative components are concurrently ongoing and any information gathered through the investigation will guide law enforcement’s next steps, McCamon said, noting that his unit and partner agencies have conducted, “and continue to conduct hundreds of follow‑ups.”

“Every credible lead is being actively pursued, and every available resource is being applied,” he said, noting that the RCMP  has continued to receive information from the public throughout the past year.

He said the RCMP appreciates “people’s concern and engagement,” but noted that the investigators want tips based in fact rather than conjecture.

The Nova Scotia Department of Justice is offering a cash reward of up to $150,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for the children’s disappearance.

Lilly and Jack lived with their mother, stepfather Daniel Martell, and infant sister Meadow at the time of their disappearance.

Soon after she reported them missing, Brooks-Murray told police that both children might be on the autism spectrum and were known to roam. She is no longer living with Martell.

The RCMP confirmed in January they had arrested Martell and he was facing charges of sexual assault, assault, and forcible confinement involving an adult victim. The allegations have not been tested in court and the case is expected to return to a courtroom on May 4. The identity of the complainant is protected by a publication ban.

The Canadian Press contributed to this report.