🚨 BREAKING: “I heard a vehicle coming and going at 1:30 a.m. – right before those kids vanished.” 🚨

A neighbor just dropped a bombshell in the haunting disappearance of Lilly (6) and Jack (4) Sullivan – claiming suspicious vehicle activity in the dead of night, hours before their mother called 911 saying the siblings had simply “wandered off” from their rural Nova Scotia home.

Read more:

Nearly nine months after 6-year-old Lilly Sullivan and her 4-year-old brother Jack vanished from their rural home without a trace, a neighbor’s report of unusual vehicle activity around 1:30 a.m. has prompted the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) to revisit conflicting timelines in one of Canada’s most perplexing missing-children cases.

The siblings were reported missing on May 2, 2025, when their mother, Malehya Brooks-Murray, called 911 around 10 a.m. to say the children could not be found at the family property on Gairloch Road in Lansdowne Station, Pictou County. Initial accounts from family members suggested Lilly and Jack had wandered into the surrounding thick woods, possibly after slipping out during the night or early morning.

What followed was one of the largest search operations in Nova Scotia history: more than 1,700 personnel logged over 12,000 hours across 8.5 square kilometers of dense forest, using ground teams, drones, cadaver dogs, and helicopters. Evidence recovered included a pink blanket believed to belong to Lilly hanging in a tree and child-sized boot prints matching Lilly’s rainbow-print rubber boots on a nearby trail. No other confirmed traces — clothing, toys, or remains — have surfaced.

The case shifted from a presumed wandering incident to a full major-crime investigation amid growing questions about the household. Court documents unsealed in late 2025 revealed inconsistencies in statements from Brooks-Murray and her common-law partner, Daniel Martell, the children’s stepfather. Brooks-Murray initially told police she put the children to bed around 9 p.m. on May 1, later revising it to 10 p.m. She said Martell stayed up later, and she was unsure when he came to bed.

Surveillance footage from a Dollarama store in nearby New Glasgow captured the entire family — including Lilly and Jack — together on the afternoon of May 1 at 2:25 p.m., confirming they were alive and with family the day before the disappearance.

Neighbors’ accounts of nighttime activity emerged early but were downplayed by police at the time. In October 2025, newly released court documents detailed statements from two nearby residents. One neighbor, Brad Wong, reported hearing a “loud vehicle” coming and going three or four times after midnight and into the early morning hours of May 2. Another, Justin Smith, told RCMP he was awake around 1:30 a.m. and heard a car turn around near the railroad tracks close to Gairloch Road and Lansdowne Station Road — an area where police later found the blanket and boot prints.

Some accounts suggested the vehicle might have been Martell’s, though police have not confirmed this. Martell told investigators he went to bed relatively early and did not leave the property that night.

In response, RCMP conducted a “thorough review of surveillance footage” from the Gairloch Road area during those early hours. On October 21, 2025, spokesperson Cindy Bayers stated: “Investigators found no evidence of any vehicle activity at that time. As such, no driver has been identified, and the presence of a vehicle has not been substantiated as a key element in the investigation.”

Despite that dismissal, recent developments indicate RCMP is re-examining the timelines, including the neighbor reports, as part of ongoing investigative efforts. No new public statement has detailed why the vehicle sightings are being revisited, but sources familiar with the case suggest persistent community tips and the need to resolve discrepancies may be factors.

The household dynamics have drawn intense scrutiny. Unsealed documents from early 2026 revealed Brooks-Murray had previously accused Martell of physical abuse in the relationship. On January 29, 2026, Martell, 34, was arrested and charged with assault, sexual assault, and forcible confinement involving an adult victim unrelated to the children’s disappearance. He was released on conditions and is scheduled to appear in court in March 2026. RCMP emphasized the charges do not involve the missing children.

The Province of Nova Scotia continues to offer a reward of up to $150,000 for information of “investigative value” leading to answers in the case. As of February 2026, the disappearance remains unsolved, with no arrests related to the children’s fate.

RCMP Staff Sgt. Rob McCamon, officer in charge of major crime and behavioral sciences for Nova Scotia, has repeatedly stated the investigation “is not going to be a cold case.” In a February 2026 interview, he expressed confidence in the work done and ongoing efforts to gather information.

The remote location — a sparsely populated rural area with thick woods and limited lighting — has complicated the probe from the start. Initial theories centered on accidental wandering and exposure, given the children’s young ages and the harsh terrain. However, the lack of any environmental evidence (no further clothing, no animal activity signs) and the timeline inconsistencies have fueled speculation of foul play or concealment.

Brooks-Murray has largely stayed out of the public eye but, through friends and family, has described taking things “day by day.” Her mother, Cyndy Murray (the children’s grandmother), has spoken emotionally about Lilly and Jack’s vibrant personalities prior to May 2025, pleading for continued attention to the case.

Community vigils and online discussions persist, with many locals and armchair investigators questioning why so little physical evidence has emerged despite exhaustive searches. The case has drawn national and international coverage, appearing in outlets from CBC to People magazine.

As winter gives way to another spring in Pictou County, the questions loom larger: Did the children wander and perish unseen? Was there involvement from someone in the home? And what role, if any, did the reported 1:30 a.m. vehicle play in the hours before dawn broke on one of Canada’s most heartbreaking mysteries?

RCMP continues to urge anyone with information — no matter how small — to contact them. Until credible leads emerge, Lilly and Jack Sullivan remain missing, their fate one of the most enduring unsolved cases in recent Canadian history.