In yet another gut-wrenching twist to the baffling disappearance of siblings Jack and Lilly Sullivan, their stepfather Daniel Martell walked away with minor injuries Thursday after wrecking his pickup truck in a single-vehicle rollover on a remote Pictou County backroad – just days after mom Malehya Brooks-Murray quietly stepped back from the high-profile volunteer group leading independent searches.

Sources close to the family confirmed Martell, 29, lost control of his 2012 Ford F-150 around 11:45 p.m. Wednesday on remote MacLellans Brook Road, about 15 kilometers from the Gairloch Road home where 6-year-old Lilly and 4-year-old Jack vanished May 2. The truck veered off the icy pavement, struck a ditch, and flipped twice before coming to rest on its roof in a snow-filled culvert.

“It was a miracle he wasn’t hurt worse,” said neighbor Earl MacDonald, who heard the crash from his nearby farmhouse. “Lights flashing everywhere – cops, fire, ambulance. He was standing there shaking, covered in glass.”

Nova Scotia RCMP confirmed the incident but said speed and winter road conditions appear to be factors. “Alcohol is not believed to be involved,” spokesperson Cpl. Guillaume Tremblay told reporters Friday. “The driver was transported to Aberdeen Hospital for observation and released.” No charges are pending.

Martell, who has been living alone in the family trailer since splitting with Brooks-Murray weeks after the disappearance, declined comment when reached by phone. “He’s shaken up but okay,” a friend said on his behalf. “This case has destroyed him.”

The crash comes amid escalating family tension. Insiders say Brooks-Murray, 26, has quietly distanced herself from Please Bring Me Home – the volunteer organization that made headlines last weekend with riverbank discoveries of potential evidence, including pink threads and a child’s toy fragment.

“Malehya provided a statement through us last month, but she’s since asked to step back from direct involvement,” Nick Oldrieve, executive director of Please Bring Me Home, confirmed Friday. “She’s focusing on her youngest child and mental health right now. We respect that – this has been hell for everyone.”

Brooks-Murray’s October statement, released via the group, read: “I will never stop searching for my children until they are found and brought home safe and sound. Someone, somewhere knows something.”

But sources say the 26-year-old has grown frustrated with online speculation and media scrutiny, particularly after riverbank finds reignited theories about the children ending up in the French River. She has reportedly blocked several family members and volunteers on social media.

“Things got heated,” one volunteer told The Chronicle Herald on condition of anonymity. “Questions about timelines, the pink blanket – it’s tearing what’s left of this family apart.”

RCMP insist the case remains a missing persons investigation, not criminal. “We continue to follow all leads,” Tremblay said. Forensic results from the recent volunteer discoveries are still weeks away.

The crash and reported rift have fueled fresh online frenzy. “First the blanket ‘planted’ drama, now stepdad wrecks his truck and mom quits the one group actually searching? Something’s off,” one popular true crime poster wrote, garnering thousands of shares.

Paternal grandmother Belynda Gray, who has clashed with Brooks-Murray over custody in the past, expressed concern. “Daniel’s been through enough,” she said. “Pray for him – and pray harder for those babies.”

Community members organized an impromptu vigil Thursday night at the crash site, leaving flowers and candles alongside the growing memorial for Jack and Lilly.

As snow blankets Pictou County and the six-month anniversary looms, volunteers vow to press on without Brooks-Murray’s active participation. “We’re planning another major push before full winter hits,” Oldrieve said. “Water levels are low – if they’re out there, this might be our last good shot.”

Martell, meanwhile, is said to be staying with his mother, step-grandmother Janie MacKenzie, while his truck is totaled. “He just wants his kids back,” a family friend said. “This accident? Rock bottom.”

The $150,000 provincial reward remains active. Anyone with information is urged to contact RCMP or Crime Stoppers.

For the tight-knit community of Lansdowne Station, the hits keep coming. “First we lose the kids, now this,” said local store owner Margaret Fraser. “When does it end?”