Timeline in N.S. missing kids investigation

Four-year-old Jack Sullivan and his six-year-old sister Lilly were reported missing from their home in Lansdowne Station, N.S., on May 2, 2025. Almost a year later, the investigation continues into their disappearance.

What follows is a timeline of events, some of it compiled from court documents that include unproven police statements that were used to obtain search warrants.

May 1, 2:25 p.m. — According to police records, this is the last time the children are independently seen outside the home, caught on a surveillance video at a store in New Glasgow, N.S.

May 1, 9 p.m. — Lilly and Jack are put to bed wearing the clothes they were wearing earlier in the day.

May 2, 6:15 a.m. – The children’s mother, Malehya Brooks-Murray, uses an app to tell school officials the children will remain home that day. At some point during the morning, the children wake up their baby sister Meadow, but later there is silence in the home. 

May 2, 10:01 a.m. – Brooks-Murray calls 911 to report Lilly and Jack are missing, saying their boots are gone and it appears they wandered away.

May 2, 10:27 a.m. – Pictou County RCMP officers arrive at the home on Gairloch Road.

May 2 – Daniel Martell, the children’s stepfather, tells officers he searched for the children by driving around and running into the woods for hours.

May 2, 4 p.m. — Family members find a pink blanket in the woods, about one kilometre from the family home. It is identified as Lilly’s, but a tracking dog fails to detect a scent trail.

May 2 to May 7 — Police and volunteer crews conduct a comprehensive search that includes the use of heat-seeking drones, helicopters and police divers.

May 3 – Brooks-Murray tells police that she and Martell have not spoken since she left him to go live with her mother, and she has blocked him on social media.

May 3 – Investigators meet with Cody Sullivan, the children’s biological father, to check Brooks-Murray’s suggestion that he may have taken them to New Brunswick. Sullivan tells officers he has not seen the children in three years.

May 4, 9:09 p.m. – Police find another piece of the pink blanket in a garbage bag near the family home.

May 5 – Martell tells reporters he’s worried the children may have been abducted. Police say there is no evidence to suggest an abduction.

May 7 – The ground search is scaled back as RCMP announce there is little chance the siblings could have survived in the woods for that long.

May 8 to May 9 – An RCMP underwater recovery team checks bodies of water in the area. 

May 9 – RCMP Staff Sgt. Robert McCamon says the children are believed to have wandered from their home. 

May 12 – Daniel Martell and Malehya Brooks-Murray agree to polygraph testing. Police say both are found to be truthful. Other family members also take part in the testing.

May 17 to May 19 – Another ground search is conducted.

June 19 – The Nova Scotia government offers reward of up to $150,000 for information about the case.

June 19 – Police confirm they have searched the family’s home, outbuildings on the property, nearby septic systems, wells, culverts, four abandoned mine shafts and local lakes.

Aug. 22 – RCMP issue a statement saying they are looking at “all scenarios.” Newly released court documents indicate police believe the case is not believed to be criminal in nature.

Sept. 19 – Dogs trained to detect human remains search for the children. Police say nothing was found.

Oct. 17 – RCMP release documents that quote nearby residents saying they heard a vehicle driving back and forth near the children’s home a few hours before they were reported missing. Police later refute these claims.

Nov. 16 – A search by the volunteer group Please Bring Me Home turns up items of interest, but RCMP say they are not relevant to the investigation.

Jan. 29, 2026 – Martell is arrested and later charged with assault, unlawful confinement and sexual assault involving an adult victim who cannot be identified. Martell denies the allegations. Police say the case is not related to the children’s disappearance. The allegations have not been tested in court.

Feb. 3 – RCMP confirm that despite extensive ground and air searches, few clues have been detected to indicate what happened to the children.

Feb. 26 – Belynda Gray, the children’s paternal grandmother, starts a fundraising campaign to pay for additional searches.

March 12 – RCMP say an additional round of polygraph testing took place in February, but investigators don’t reveal who was tested.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 29, 2026.

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