HALIFAX, Nova Scotia – Six months after 6-year-old Lilly Sullivan and 4-year-old Jack Sullivan vanished from their rural family home in Lansdowne Station, the investigation into one of Canada’s most haunting child disappearances has taken a darker turn in the court of public opinion. As the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) continue to sift through digital forensics and witness statements, growing scrutiny has fallen on the children’s mother, Malehya Brooks-Murray, whose perceived emotional detachment and swift entry into a new romantic relationship have ignited accusations of apathy from online sleuths, family members, and true-crime enthusiasts alike. “Her children have vanished without a trace, and she’s out there moving on with her life? It’s unconscionable,” one viral social media post fumed this week, capturing the raw outrage that’s fueled hashtags like #JusticeForLillyAndJack across platforms such as X and Facebook.

Brooks-Murray, 24, reported her children missing on the morning of May 2, 2025, telling dispatchers during a frantic 911 call that the siblings had likely slipped out the back door of their mobile home – a property abutting dense Pictou County woods and the treacherous East River – sometime after 8 a.m. The call came at 10:01 a.m., painting a picture of a mother discovering an empty house after a seemingly ordinary night. “They loved playing outside, but it’s been hours – where are my babies?” she reportedly pleaded, according to unsealed court documents from the RCMP’s Northeast Nova Scotia Major Crime Unit. Lilly, a spirited girl with dreams of becoming a ballerina, and her truck-obsessed little brother Jack were last captured on surveillance video the previous afternoon at a Dollarama in nearby New Glasgow, laughing and browsing aisles with their family.

What followed was an exhaustive search effort that mobilized hundreds: ground teams combing miles of rugged terrain, K-9 units sniffing for scents, helicopters with thermal cameras scanning from above, and divers probing the river’s murky currents. Yet, despite these Herculean efforts, not a single shoe, toy, or scrap of clothing linked to the children has surfaced. Recent volunteer-led sweeps, including a grueling November 16 operation by the Ontario-based Please Bring Me Home group, unearthed a child’s T-shirt, blanket, and even a tricycle – items that briefly sparked hope before the RCMP dismissed them as unrelated debris from prior floods. “We’re not stopping, no matter how deep the snow gets,” vowed organizer Nick Oldrieve, whose team waded icy waters and hacked through underbrush in a desperate bid for breakthroughs before winter seals the trails.

As the physical hunt stalls, attention has pivoted to the digital realm and interpersonal dynamics. Court filings, including Information to Obtain (ITO) warrants unsealed in August, detail how investigators seized Brooks-Murray’s iPhone and her then-partner Daniel Martell’s Android device, employing Cellebrite forensics software to unearth logs from the TextPlus app – the same Wi-Fi-based messaging tool she abruptly deleted days after the disappearance. Subpoenaed records from TextPlus Inc. revealed calls to relatives on May 1 and 2 from three redacted numbers, with metadata showing her phone stationary at the trailer through the night. “Anomalous activity” in the app’s geolocation pings has raised eyebrows, though much remains sealed, leaving room for speculation about hidden conversations or timelines that contradict the parents’ accounts.

Witness statements add layers of intrigue. Neighbors reported hearing a vehicle engine revving and tires crunching on gravel around 2 a.m. on May 1 – hours after the family claims the children were put to bed at 9 p.m. One affidavit from a retired logger described headlights flickering through the trees near a dead-end path, “like someone turning around in the dark – not normal around here.” The RCMP, however, debunked abduction theories last month, stating no evidence supports claims of a stranger’s vehicle. Polygraphs administered to Brooks-Murray and Martell on May 12 both indicated truthfulness, with investigators initially deeming the case “not criminal in nature.” Still, tips poured in, including unverified reports that biological father Cody Sullivan – estranged for three years despite paying child support – might have spirited the kids to New Brunswick, prompting toll plaza video requests.

Amid this fog of leads and dead ends, Brooks-Murray’s post-disappearance behavior has become the lightning rod. After the initial shock, she relocated from the trailer to stay with relatives in New Glasgow, blocking Martell on social media and maintaining a low profile that some interpret as withdrawal. Court docs note she provided police with a USB recording of a phone call involving her grandmother’s cousin, Darin Geddes (alias “Derwood O’Grady” in a speculative YouTube interview), who floated unproven theories about the case – claims she later disavowed.

Public posts on the dedicated “Find Lilly and Jack Sullivan” Facebook page, which boasts over 50,000 members, paint a picture of intermittent engagement. In late October, as Jack’s 5th birthday approached on October 29, Brooks-Murray shared a heartfelt plea: “I desperately want my babies home. The pure pain I suffer of just not knowing where they are has impacted my life and my family in the most devastating way.” She described sleepless nights haunted by empty beds and vowed, “Someone, somewhere, knows something – please bring my babies home.” A candlelit vigil followed at the Stellarton RCMP detachment, drawing community support.

Yet, these moments of vulnerability clash with reports of emotional distance. The children’s paternal grandmother, Belynda Gray, told CBC in June that contact had “dwindled and stopped” long before the disappearance, after Brooks-Murray moved in with Martell – the last sighting of her grandchildren nearly two years prior. “My heart tells me these babies are gone,” Gray said, her voice heavy with grief, questioning why her son, Cody, hadn’t seen Lilly and Jack in years despite his efforts to stay involved.

The most incendiary revelation, however, surfaced in recent X threads and Reddit discussions: whispers that Brooks-Murray has entered a new romantic relationship mere months after the vanishing. Unverified posts from true-crime accounts, including live YouTube readings by “Crime Story Mama D,” dissect her “last day” with the children, labeling her quick pivot to romance as “deeply concerning” and “a red flag screaming indifference.” One X user posted: “Kids gone without a trace, and she’s swiping on Tinder? No reasonable explanation for that level of apathy.” While Brooks-Murray hasn’t publicly confirmed any new partner, sources close to Martell – who split from her amid the scrutiny – describe her as “checked out,” focusing on their shared infant daughter, Meadow, rather than leading search efforts.

Martell, now estranged, has echoed the frustration in rare interviews. “I was so exhausted that first night, I passed out at 9:09 p.m. after hugging her – but she called RCMP about Cody without telling me,” he told CBC, insisting he pushed for his own polygraph to clear his name. Reached last week, Brooks-Murray declined comment through a family spokesperson, her voice reportedly cracking: “Just bring my babies home.”

Experts caution against armchair verdicts. Dr. Miriam Hale, a child psychologist at Dalhousie University, notes that grief manifests differently: “Detachment or new attachments can be coping mechanisms in trauma, not malice. But in high-stakes cases like this, optics matter – and they fuel distrust.” The RCMP, stung by past criticisms over the 2020 Portapique massacre, maintains the probe is active and non-criminal, with a $150,000 reward unchanged as of October. Spokesperson Cpl. Lisa Ruggiero emphasized: “Every lead, from TextPlus bytes to witness whispers, is pursued relentlessly.”

Online fervor shows no signs of waning. The “Justice for Lilly & Jack Sullivan” Facebook group pulses with theories, from woods foul play to familial custody grabs, amplified by TikTok recreations and X live streams marking grim milestones – like the 75-day mark in July. As November’s chill deepens, volunteers brace for snow-covered searches, and the province allocates $2 million more for enhanced tech like AI data analysis.

In the frozen-in-time bedroom – Lilly’s tutu slung over a chair, Jack’s toy trucks queued for a race that never happened – the void lingers. Whether Brooks-Murray’s path to a new chapter signals heartbreak’s fracture or something more sinister remains the case’s cruelest unanswered question. For a mother whose pleas once echoed desperation, the silence now breeds suspicion: In the shadow of vanished innocence, what story will the survivors tell?

Anyone with tips is urged to call RCMP at 1-902-485-4331 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).