Nova Scotia RCMP confirm children were seen in public a day before they disappeared

HALIFAX — RCMP in northeastern Nova Scotia confirmed that two children who disappeared almost four weeks ago were last seen in public with family members on May 1 — the day before they were reported missing.

The confirmation of their whereabouts on that day is important because police were previously told six-year-old Lilly Sullivan and four-year-old Jack Sullivan were at school on April 29 and were kept home in rural Lansdowne Station, N.S., until they went missing on May 2.

“Based on the details we’ve gathered so far, we’ve confirmed that Lilly and Jack were observed in public with family members on the afternoon of May 1,” Nova Scotia RCMP major crime unit Cpl. Sandy Matharu said in a statement Tuesday.

Police said in the statement they are asking the public for more video footage from the area to help with their investigation.

In particular, investigators are asking for dashcam footage or any other video from along Gairloch Road — where the family’s home is located — recorded between noon on April 28 and noon of May 2.

“RCMP officers from various teams are fully engaged in finding out what happened to Lilly and Jack, and we’re using all tools and resources to determine the circumstances of their disappearance,” Matharu said.

“We understand people’s desire for answers and updates. However, as this is an active investigation, we’re unable to discuss details of our ongoing work.”

RCMP said investigators have already collected hours of video footage from local residents, some of whom have confirmed turning over recordings from motion-activated trail cameras. They have also received more than 355 tips they say they are following up on, and police have formally interviewed more than 50 people. Mounties said they have more interviews planned in the coming days.

In the days after the young children were reported missing, an extensive ground and air search covered more than five square kilometres of the hilly, densely-wooded area surrounding the home which is about 140 kilometres northeast of Halifax.

The search involved helicopter crews, tracking dogs, aerial drones equipped with heat-seeking technology and as many as 160 trained volunteers that assisted ground search teams.

Police have repeatedly said there is no evidence to suggest the children were abducted.

On May 7, the search was scaled back as the RCMP announced there was little chance the siblings could have survived in the woods for that long. The Mounties said they searched ponds and streams around Lansdowne Station on May 8 and 9.

Then, on May 17 and 18, about 100 ground search and rescue volunteers returned to the woods to take a closer look at specific areas around the road where the family’s home is located.

Searchers have said the slow, hard work of scanning the forest floor was made more difficult by thick layers of toppled, interlocking trees left strewn across the region by hurricane Fiona in September 2022.

Meanwhile, the children’s disappearance has become a hot topic on social media, where speculation about their fate has become fodder for podcasts and commentaries.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 28, 2025.

Lyndsay Armstrong, The Canadian Press