In the quiet, wooded hamlet of Lansdowne Station in Pictou County, Nova Scotia, a nightmare unfolded on the morning of May 2, 2025, that has haunted Canada ever since. Six-year-old Lilly Sullivan and her five-year-old brother Jack vanished from their rural home on Gairloch Road without a trace, leaving behind a family shattered, a community in mourning, and investigators grappling with one of the most perplexing missing persons cases in recent memory. As Christmas Eve 2025 approaches – marking over seven months since the siblings were last seen – the absence of answers has only deepened the pain for their loved ones and the nation watching.

Lilly, born in March 2019, was a bright-eyed girl with shoulder-length light brown hair and hazel eyes, standing about four feet tall and weighing around 60 pounds. She was often seen in a pink Barbie top, pink rubber boots with rainbow prints, and carrying a cream-colored backpack adorned with strawberries. Her younger brother Jack, born October 29, 2020, had dark blonde hair, hazel eyes, stood three feet six inches, and weighed 40 pounds. He was believed to be wearing a pull-up diaper, black Under Armour jogging pants, and blue rubber boots with dinosaur prints. The children lived in a modest trailer home with their biological mother, Malehya Brooks-Murray, stepfather Daniel Martell, and their one-year-old baby sister Meadow. The property, surrounded by dense forests, steep banks, thick brush, and nearby bodies of water like Lansdowne Lake, was isolated – a place where children could easily wander but also where dangers lurked unseen.

The day before the disappearance, May 1, seemed ordinary. The family, including Lilly and Jack, was captured on surveillance video at a Dollarama store in nearby New Glasgow around 2:25 p.m., shopping together. The children had been kept home from Salt Springs Elementary School due to illness, with no school scheduled anyway. That evening, according to statements from Brooks-Murray and Martell, the kids were put to bed around 9 or 10 p.m. Martell reportedly stayed up later, while Brooks-Murray went to sleep.

The next morning, tragedy struck silently. Brooks-Murray marked the children absent from school at 6:15 a.m. due to continued illness. Between 8:00 and 9:40 a.m., while the parents were in the bedroom with baby Meadow, Lilly reportedly poked her head into the room, and Jack could be heard in the kitchen. Martell claimed he heard the sliding back door open and close – a door he described as typically silent. Assuming the kids were playing outside, the parents didn’t immediately check. But when they did, Lilly and Jack were gone. Their boots were missing, but no other signs of disturbance – a wrench placed on the front door the night before remained untouched.

At 10:01 a.m., Brooks-Murray called 911 in panic. RCMP arrived by 10:27 a.m., issuing a vulnerable persons alert across Pictou County. Initial theory: the children, possibly mildly autistic and known to roam, had wandered off into the treacherous terrain. No Amber Alert was triggered, as there was no evidence of abduction.

The response was swift and massive. Ground Search and Rescue teams from across Nova Scotia mobilized, with over 150 volunteers at peak, covering 8.5 square kilometers of rugged forest. Helicopters, drones, K-9 units including cadaver dogs, underwater recovery teams, and even the Civil Air Search and Rescue Association joined. Searches scoured ponds, Lansdowne Lake, old mineshafts, and backroads. Volunteers found items like a child’s T-shirt, blanket pieces, tricycle, and bicycles in rivers – but RCMP deemed them unrelated after family confirmation.

By May 7, the ground search scaled back. Staff Sgt. Curtis MacKinnon noted the harsh conditions made survival unlikely beyond days. Cadaver dogs later in October covered 40 kilometers without locating remains. Items volunteers discovered in November – including a boy’s shirt and diapers – were also ruled irrelevant.

Behind the scenes, scrutiny fell on the family. Polygraphs on May 12 for both Brooks-Murray and Martell indicated truthfulness. Questions focused on harm to the children. Court documents revealed prior child welfare concerns, bank/GPS/phone data tracking parents’ movements, and a brief suspicion of biological father Cody Sullivan (estranged, no contact in years; he was cleared). Brooks-Murray initially suggested Cody might have taken them to New Brunswick, but he was home and cooperative.

Martell spoke publicly early on, frustrated, urging border monitoring. He described the family’s chaos: cluttered home, drafty trailer, lively kids. Brooks-Murray left soon after to stay with family, blocking Martell on social media per reports. Step-grandmother Janie Mackenzie, living in a camper on property, recalled hearing the children playing that morning before silence.

Paternal grandmother Belynda Gray expressed lost hope in December 2025 interviews, preparing for the worst while clinging to love. Maternal grandmother Cyndy Murray prayed for recovery. Vigils marked milestones, like Jack’s birthday October 29 with candles at Stellarton RCMP.

In June, Nova Scotia offered a $150,000 reward for investigative information – the case added to major unsolved crimes program. RCMP, leading under Missing Persons Act with Major Crime Unit, processed over 860 tips, 8,060 videos, forensic tests. By July, no criminal nature believed, but all scenarios open. Partnerships spanned provinces.

Volunteer efforts persisted: November weekend searches by groups like Please Bring Me Home, wading rivers before winter. Ontario charity joined at family request.

As 2025 ends, no breakthroughs. RCMP calls it “extremely rare” – officer with 33 years experience never seen similar. Community in Lansdowne, economically challenged, rallies with poverty affecting one in five children.

Lilly and Jack’s disappearance – no sightings, no remains, no closure – remains Canada’s enduring mystery. On this Christmas Eve, families light candles, hoping for miracles. The whisper of two young voices lost in the woods echoes, urging answers. Anyone with information: contact RCMP at 902-896-5060 or Crime Stoppers anonymously.

The search continues. 🕯️