The Disappearance of Lilly and Jack Sullivan

 

This is a case I’ve known about for quite a while. We’re not at the one-year anniversary yet, but we’re getting close—and it’s the perfect example of why I hesitate to cover cases when they’re very fresh. Information changes fast. People make assumptions even faster. I wanted to give this one space to breathe, to let the details surface, and to avoid locking in conclusions too early.

Unfortunately, we’re now at the point where there still hasn’t been a resolution. This has been a long-awaited case for me to cover, and it involves the disappearance of six-year-old Lily Sullivan and her four-year-old brother, Jack Sullivan. They vanished on May 2nd, 2025, from their rural home in Pictou County, Nova Scotia. Since then, there have been no confirmed sightings that we know of, and no clear explanation.

What stands out most to me is how quickly this case exploded online—and how fast the conversation spiraled. When you only have a handful of details, it’s incredibly easy to run with them in any direction you want. And in the true crime community, sensationalism gets clicks. A quick search on YouTube or Google tells you exactly what kind of content people gravitate toward, and this case became the perfect storm: few facts, endless speculation, and a lot of drama.

Many people genuinely wanted to help and keep attention on Lily and Jack. But the chaos took over. People crossed serious lines—showing up uninvited to family properties, posting unverified claims as fact, and spreading information that caused real harm. AI-generated content even circulated, which is heartbreaking on its own.

Because behind all the noise are two real children. Two kids got swallowed by the spectacle. And the more the internet argued, the harder it became to see the center of the story: Lily and Jack.

Adding to the confusion was the RCMP’s tight-lipped approach. Even now, basic questions have multiple conflicting versions. This case is complicated to understand, with a lot still unsettled. So today, we’re going to walk through the known details: what’s been publicly confirmed, what investigators have clarified, and what has been pieced together through interviews and official records that began to emerge after August.

Let’s start with who Lily and Jack are—and the family they belong to.

Lily Sullivan and Jack Sullivan were growing up in a quiet, rural part of Nova Scotia. Lily was born in March 2019, so she was six years old when she disappeared and is now approaching her seventh birthday. She has light brown hair and hazel eyes, and by the family’s descriptions, she was energetic and outgoing. People who knew her often talked about her bright, glowing smile.

Her paternal grandmother, Belinda Gray, described Lily as inquisitive and full of life—curious about everything. Lily seemed like the kind of child who lived at “level 100,” always asking questions and always wanting to play. That kind of personality becomes especially haunting in a disappearance, because it’s so vivid. It feels like she should be easy to find.

Jack was born in October 2020. He was four when he disappeared, and he would have turned five a couple months ago. Jack had dark blonde hair and hazel eyes, and compared to Lily, he was more reserved.

Jack was curious in a quieter way. He liked to explore, look for bugs, and take things in. Another mom, Malaya, said both kids were friendly and very trusting of adults—they would talk to just about anyone.

Jack even had favorites, like his bus driver, who would sometimes get a boot tossed at him if he wasn’t paying attention to Jack’s stories. These were not kids who hid from people. They were the kind of children who made connections easily, which adds another layer of concern.

At the time they went missing, Lily and Jack lived with their mom, Malaya Brooks Murray. Malaya was 27 and a stay-at-home mom. Their stepdad was 34-year-old Daniel Martell, who worked at a local hardwood mill.

Malaya and Daniel had been together for about three years. When Malaya became pregnant with their baby sister, Meadow, they needed a place to live. Around that time, they moved into Daniel’s childhood home on Gearlock Road in Lansdowne Station. They’d been living there for about two years prior to the children’s disappearance.

They were also living with Daniel’s mother, Janie. As the family grew—with Lily, Jack, and then Meadow—Janie moved out of the main house and into a camper in the backyard to give them more room. Meadow was 16 months old when Lily and Jack disappeared.

To understand why this case has been so difficult, you need a clear picture of where they lived. Gearlock Road is extremely remote. Dense woods, steep embankments, thick brush, marshy ground, and bodies of water like the Middle River are part of the landscape.

Neighbors are few and far between because Pictou County is rural, and Lansdowne Station itself has only about 100 residents. In this area, many people are related, or at least connected through generations of living nearby. There’s also no cell service—this place is a dead zone.

From what’s been reported, several nearby residents were related to Daniel. His father lived nearby, and there may have been other relatives down the road as well. The sense you get is that this is a small, intertwined community where everyone knows everyone—or knows someone who knows them.

In daily life, Lily and Jack attended Salt Springs Elementary, a very small school with around 86 students. Lily was likely in kindergarten, and Jack was in a pre-K program. They rode the bus together, which met them at the end of their driveway. They went to school and came home together—classic small-town routine.

Their home sat in a clearing tucked back into the woods, surrounded by trees. They had room to play: a fenced backyard, a playset, and a chicken coop. They also sometimes played near the edge of the woods, not far from the property, where they’d built a small fort from sticks near the woodline.

That brings us to May 2nd, 2025—the morning they disappeared.

That Friday started out like many others in the Sullivan home. Lily and Jack had been dealing with coughs all week, so they’d been out of school since Tuesday, April 29th. Wednesday the 30th was a scheduled professional development day with no school. Malaya kept them home again on Thursday, May 1st, because they were still sick.

On Friday morning, Malaya’s alarm went off around 6:00 a.m. Normally, she would get the kids ready and out to the driveway by 7:00 for the bus. But when she woke up, she decided it was best to keep them home one more day. At 6:15, she marked them absent on the school app and went back to bed.

Around 8:00 a.m., Malaya and Daniel heard Lily and Jack waking up and playing in the house. Lily came in and out of their bedroom a few times that morning. They didn’t know if anyone physically saw Jack, but they said they heard both children.

Their playing woke baby Meadow. Malaya got up, brought Meadow into bed, put on a TV show, and the three of them—Malaya, Daniel, and Meadow—dozed on and off while Lily and Jack continued playing on their own.

At around 9:40 a.m., Malaya noticed the house had become too quiet. She asked Daniel if he had heard the kids. He hadn’t. They both got up, and quickly realized Lily and Jack weren’t anywhere inside the house.

Daniel had a routine at night: he placed a heavy wrench above the front door because a local black bear would sometimes try to come inside for food. The wrench was still in place, which made them believe the front door hadn’t been opened. So their best guess was that Lily and Jack had slipped out through the back sliding glass door, which opened quietly—and their bedroom was on the far side of the house.

In that moment, it made sense. The kids had been cooped up for days. Maybe they went to the swings. Maybe they went to see the chickens. Maybe they went to see Janie in the camper. So Malaya and Daniel ran outside and began searching, calling their names, checking the yard and the children’s play areas.

But Lily and Jack weren’t there. Not on the swings. Not in the fenced area. Not hiding in the usual spots. Malaya and Daniel checked nearby and started searching along the edge of the woods, but still found nothing.

Daniel got into the car—at the time, the only working vehicle—and drove the dirt roads in the area for about ten minutes. He looked along treelines, culverts, and connecting back roads, trying to spot them. It didn’t seem likely they could be far, and in the panic of those first minutes, you grasp for any explanation that keeps them close.

But after ten minutes, there was still no sign. Around the time Daniel headed into the woods on foot to continue searching, it was about 10:00 a.m. Malaya called 911 to report the children missing.

When police arrived, Malaya and Daniel described the morning routine, the quiet house, and their belief that the children left through the back door. They described what the kids were wearing based on what they had on the night before.

Lily was believed to be wearing a pink sweater, pink pajama bottoms, a Barbie top with thin straps, and pink socks. Jack was thought to be wearing black sweatpants, a t-shirt, and a diaper.

One detail felt especially important: both children’s favorite rubber boots were missing from the back door area. Lily’s were pink with a rainbow print, and Jack’s were blue with dinosaur print. Lily’s cream-colored backpack with a strawberry pattern was also gone. To the parents, these missing items suggested the children intentionally geared up to go outside and go somewhere.

Janie, Daniel’s mother, also told the RCMP what she experienced. She may have been one of the last people to hear the children before they vanished. Janie’s camper sat near the chicken coop and the playset.

She said she woke up around 6:00 a.m., had tea, and browsed Facebook. Around 7:00 a.m., she went outside to feed her chickens, and the backyard was quiet. According to the timeline, the children may not even have been awake yet.

At about 8:48 a.m., Janie took a call from her brother. She said she planned to go back to bed, ended the call, and lay down. Almost immediately, she heard Lily and Jack giggling outside on the backyard swings.

Janie didn’t think anything of it. She assumed one of the parents was with them and fell back asleep. About 40 minutes later, she woke up to Malaya and Daniel yelling the kids’ names, ran outside, and learned the children were missing.

This matters because it compresses the window. If Janie heard giggling around 8:50 to 9:00 and the parents realized the children were gone around 9:40, then the time where something could have happened was under an hour. They had been outside. They had been fine. Then suddenly—they weren’t.

Janie immediately went into the woods to search, believing there was no way the kids could have gone far. The family took walks in the woods together, so Janie knew the terrain and how Jack especially handled it. She said Jack would tire quickly and often had to be carried.

Her first stop was the small stick fort near the woodline. The children weren’t there. Janie kept going until she reached the dirt road behind the property and then turned back, thinking it didn’t make sense for them to be that far. Daniel also made it to the dirt road and continued farther in, while Janie returned to search closer to home.

The weather added urgency and confusion. It was cold and rainy—around 40°F—with snow melt making the ground wet and muddy. Malaya and Daniel said the children hated being cold and wet, which made it feel out of character for them to wander off. The kids also typically weren’t allowed outside without an adult, especially not into the woods.

When the RCMP arrived and assessed the scene, there were no obvious signs of foul play. No damage to the home. No visible evidence of a struggle. Based on the initial information, it seemed plausible the children wandered into the woods and got lost—so that became the immediate focus.

Searchers deployed on foot. By 12:25 p.m., RCMP issued their first public statement announcing the disappearance and asking the community to keep an eye out. The hope was that maybe the children wandered down the road, ended up on another property, or sheltered in an outbuilding.

As hours passed with no sign, RCMP escalated with a vulnerable missing person advisory by around 5:00 p.m. Many people wanted an Amber Alert, and confusion around that choice has persisted. But Amber Alerts have specific criteria—there must be evidence of abduction, such as a witnessed taking or identifying vehicle information. According to what’s been explained, that criteria wasn’t met.

This other advisory aimed to achieve a similar goal: get as many eyes out as possible. The alert went out across Pictou County and nearby areas, with the children’s descriptions and what they were last believed to be wearing.

Search and rescue teams focused early efforts on a four-square-kilometer area around the home—forest, fields, and waterways. The terrain was brutally difficult, even for adults. Teams had to search inch by inch because children can fit under fallen trees, into brush, or into places that aren’t obvious from a distance.

Searchers were on foot, and drones and helicopters scanned from above. Police dogs were brought in using scent articles like clothing and bedding. The goal was simple: find direction, find a trail, find anything—because the situation felt like the children had been plucked from the backyard.

The community quickly joined in. Regular people showed up to help, bringing coffee, food, and water. Despite it being May, the temperature and rain made it critical to find them before nightfall.

As the sun went down, the search continued with infrared drones designed to detect body heat. Teams scanned through the night, hoping to spot the children huddled somewhere. But there was no sign.

As the hours passed without results, people began asking the question they don’t want to ask: what else could have happened?

Around 12:45 a.m. on May 3rd, there was a second 911 call. Malaya contacted police again with a new concern: she wondered whether the children’s biological father might have taken them.

The children’s biological father is Cody Sullivan, who lived around 30 minutes away. Malaya told authorities she and Cody split up a couple years earlier when Lily and Jack were very young, after being together about three to three and a half years. She said she wanted sole custody, and Cody agreed and stepped back. She stated he hadn’t seen the kids or asked to see them in three years, and didn’t know their current address.

Malaya also acknowledged she didn’t have proof—just the fear of “what if.” Statistically, when children go missing, it is often someone close to them, especially with custody dynamics. In a desperate moment, it was a line of thought she couldn’t ignore.

Details around timing are conflicting in different sources, but police did interview Cody and his mother, Belinda Gray, in the middle of the night. They questioned them separately in patrol cars for hours and searched the home. Ultimately, the RCMP found nothing suggesting the children were there or that Cody had been in the area.

Cody supported what Malaya said: he hadn’t seen the kids in years. Belinda corroborated that she hadn’t seen them in nearly two years. Belinda also said she had once been close with Malaya and had a good relationship with her, and that Malaya had been an excellent mom.

Belinda said things changed when Malaya met Daniel. Visits became less frequent, and Malaya told Belinda it was because Daniel was jealous and didn’t want her going over, especially if it meant possibly seeing Cody. Over time, communication stopped.

But despite that family tension, authorities found no indication that Cody or Belinda were involved at that stage, and the investigation continued.

On May 3rd, the search expanded significantly. Over 100 people were involved—RCMP, emergency management teams, trained volunteers—organized in grids radiating outward from the house. Teams used ATVs and horses, with additional drones and helicopters. A command post was set up to coordinate the effort.

That same day, Malaya gave her first and only statement to CTV News. The prevailing belief still seemed to be that the children were nearby, lost, hiding, or sheltered somewhere. Abduction did not appear to be the dominant view early on, especially given how remote the home and play areas were.

In the interview, Malaya described hearing the children playing while she drifted in and out of sleep, then realizing the house had gone quiet and calling 911. She described the children as sweet, friendly, and talkative. She said the family appreciated the search effort and expressed frustration that an Amber Alert hadn’t been issued, emphasizing the desire for broad public awareness.

She also mentioned uncertainty around tracks due to the rain and expressed hope the sun might warm the children. She described the pain of not having them in their beds and not wanting to endure another night like that.

Authorities also searched nearby properties. On May 3rd, they checked Daniel’s father’s property—Earl Martell—where there were rundown buildings and campers. They found nothing. They continued combing trails and dirt roads without finding the children.

The region’s history added another layer of worry: it had once been a copper mining area, with abandoned mines within a few miles. It seemed unlikely the children could have traveled that far, but the fear remained. Water was also a concern—rivers and streams can carry small bodies far, connecting to larger waterways and eventually the ocean.

By May 6th, Daniel was questioned for hours by RCMP. He went over timelines and drew maps of the property and surrounding areas. Having grown up in the area, he likely knew the woods better than most, and investigators hoped that knowledge might help.

Early in the search, a few items briefly raised hope.

On May 2nd, Malaya’s family members searching along the road found a piece of pink blanket caught in spruce trees about a kilometer away along the pipeline trail. Daniel initially said he didn’t recognize it; Malaya said it did belong to Lily and described it as part of an LOL doll blanket Lily loved.

The discovery was strange: it was only a piece, and it was caught up high in the trees. The property also appeared to have debris and belongings outdoors, raising the possibility it could have been blown away. Still, the blanket piece was collected and sent for forensic testing, and scent dogs were brought to the location to attempt tracking—without success, possibly impacted by rain.

A bootprint was also reportedly found near the house in the driveway. Janie spoke about it publicly and showed the spot, but details remain limited. It’s unclear whether it was an adult or child print, and there had been recent activity in that area.

More significantly, child-sized bootprints were found along the pipeline trail, in two different sizes. One imprint showed the number 29, later determined to correspond to a UK sizing consistent with a Canadian size 11. Malaya initially believed Lily wore size 12 or 13, but authorities later found a receipt showing the boots were in fact size 11.

Authorities did not publicly confirm the prints were Lily’s, but the coincidence was hard to ignore: two small bootprints and a piece of Lily’s confirmed blanket in the same general area. Yet despite intensive searching, these were among the few indicators suggesting the children may have been in the woods at all.

After nearly a week of nonstop searching, the RCMP scaled back the major search on May 7th. By then, crews had covered around 5.5 square kilometers—about two square miles. They said the likelihood of finding the children alive was very low, which was devastating. They emphasized they weren’t giving up, but shifting toward more targeted efforts and investigative work: timelines, questioning, fact verification, and tools like polygraphs.

That same day, another tip again pulled attention toward the biological father.

A hotel employee in New Brunswick reported believing they had seen the children with Cody. The way it was written in documents suggested the employee specifically said they saw the kids with Cody—raising questions about how the person could recognize him, since he wasn’t publicly prominent in coverage. Police followed up: they went back to speak with Cody and Belinda, photographed their vehicles, and pulled highway toll camera footage to look for their cars traveling with two small children.

The lead went nowhere. No one under Cody’s name stayed at the hotel, and toll camera footage did not support the claim. While alternate travel routes exist, they’re not obvious, and the main road has cameras.

Around the same time, another notable tip came in—this one from a neighbor. The neighbor asked to remain anonymous and spoke with authorities on May 9th but declined to provide an official statement.

In a community of around 100 people, anonymity isn’t automatically suspicious—it can be self-preservation. People don’t want to be “the neighbor who snitched,” especially where everyone is connected. According to this account, the neighbor reported hearing a loud vehicle coming and going several times between midnight and 5:00 a.m. on May 2nd, before the children were believed to have disappeared.

He described the engine as distinctive, reportedly a “five-speed,” and said he saw headlights moving back and forth three or four times—though other versions said five or six. The shifting number added uncertainty, but the neighbor remained firm that the activity occurred. Online, this kind of detail lit a fuse: people began speculating about foul play, abduction, and what may have happened overnight.

Daniel urged authorities to monitor border crossings and nearby airports, expressing fear the children had been taken. Malaya reportedly voiced similar fears to Belinda, saying she worried someone might have taken them. Some people criticized how quickly the parents considered abduction, but it’s also true that as days pass without a discovery, people cling to any possibility that keeps the children alive.

Online discourse shifted dramatically as personal family issues surfaced. A major focus became Malaya’s absence from media coverage and public searching after her initial interview. Many expected the children’s mother to be front and center, pleading publicly, searching publicly. When she wasn’t, speculation exploded.

Daniel, in contrast, was everywhere. He gave interviews to many outlets, and he shared not only details about the morning, but also hints about personal issues—like mentioning Malaya blocked him on social media. That contrast—her silence, his visibility—pulled attention away from Lily and Jack and into scrutiny of the couple.

Tensions reportedly escalated within the family as early as May 3rd. Malaya’s family arrived to help search, but the situation became volatile. There was a confrontation at the home involving allegations directed at Daniel related to possible meth use, serious enough that Janie asked some of Malaya’s relatives to leave the property.

This is the kind of chaos that often erupts in crises. You’re meeting people on the worst day of their lives, under maximum fear, grief, and stress. People aren’t calm, polished, or predictable.

Around that same time at the command post, Malaya and Daniel reviewed search maps. During this, Malaya reportedly had a breakdown—she said she wasn’t feeling well, went to an ambulance, and began sobbing. Daniel followed and tried to speak privately, but she refused, and Malaya’s mother intervened.

Ultimately, Malaya, her mother, and baby Meadow left and drove to a neighboring town to be with family. That was reportedly the last time Daniel saw Malaya. This helps explain Malaya’s absence, though it didn’t stop the public from questioning it.

There was also a disagreement about where Meadow should stay during the chaos. Malaya wanted Meadow with her mother to shield her from stress. Daniel wanted the baby to stay with them. That conflict escalated, and Malaya blocked him on social media. Reports suggest she later stepped away from social media entirely due to the intense online speculation.

Malaya has said she didn’t speak to media because RCMP advised her not to—something that is common. But Daniel continued speaking publicly, which some saw as suspicious and others saw as the behavior of someone trying to keep attention on the case. Either way, it fueled debate and deepened the divide.

Malaya’s family members who were asked to leave the property told reporters they felt Daniel behaved “off”—avoiding eye contact, not engaging, acting strangely. They also claimed he accused them of planting the blanket piece they found along the pipeline trail. Distrust between families grew in real time.

Belinda also spoke publicly, describing her impression of the property’s condition and the woods. She said the home looked unkempt compared to the Malaya she remembered. She described the woods as thick and difficult, expressing disbelief that children would wander deep into that terrain without being found.

Belinda’s tone grew less hopeful, and she stated her belief that someone hurt the children. She described Lily and Jack as pure and innocent, and said the lack of answers was unbearable.

Other allegations emerged: Malaya reportedly described Daniel as controlling. She claimed he once held her down and took her phone. Family members said Malaya confided that Daniel had used drugs and hid his drug use early in their relationship.

Daniel responded publicly. He admitted past drug use—“pretty much everything else”—but said he had not used in recent years and was willing to take a drug test. He framed their relationship issues as separate from the children’s disappearance and said he had nothing to hide. He also claimed Malaya had tried to leave him a week or two before the children went missing, then decided to stay.

As these details surfaced, the case drifted from a search for two missing children into a public examination of the family. Questions are normal in confusing cases, but there is a thin line between reasonable inquiry and unchecked speculation. In this case, that line was crossed repeatedly.

Online conversations snowballed. Anonymous comments turned into “facts” through repetition. With RCMP saying little and Daniel saying a lot, the information environment became messy. Creators played a role, too—some trying to help, others pushing sensational angles.

One incident escalated concerns: a creator reportedly visited a family member’s property under the guise of buying a horse trailer, secretly recorded a conversation, and posted it online. That kind of behavior adds pressure, fear, and instability for the people closest to the case.

To combat rumors, Janie invited media onto the property. She walked them through the layout, routine details, and the patio door. She described how she could normally hear the children from her camper and said she did not hear anything unusual that morning beyond the giggling she’d mentioned.

She also emphasized the extent of searches: the property, barns, well, septic tank, RV, and trailer had been searched repeatedly. She described fear about drones overhead, cars slowing down, and the feeling of being watched in her own yard. She said she kept her head down, not to hide, but because she didn’t like being on camera and wanted to be left alone.

While all of that unfolded, searches continued.

On May 17th and 18th, the major crimes unit coordinated renewed ground and air searches with about 115 volunteers. The focus appeared to broaden, with attention toward nearby water, but no new clues were found.

On May 17th, another neighbor, Justin Smith, provided a statement saying he heard a car around 1:30 a.m., seemingly turning around near the intersection of Gearlock Road and Lansdowne Station Road. He said it went quiet briefly, then drove off.

But he also said he had spoken to the earlier anonymous neighbor, who suggested he likely heard Daniel’s car. That complication matters, because when witnesses compare notes, memory and interpretation can shift.

A key issue also emerged: Daniel’s own car was reportedly out of commission. They were using Malaya’s car. If the sound was described as a distinctive “five-speed,” that raised questions about whether the tip matched known vehicle realities.

Daniel repeatedly stated publicly he never left the house that night. The first neighbor eventually came forward publicly as Brad Wong and stood by his claim. RCMP explored who was in and out of the area, including seeking trail cam footage from a home about eight kilometers away, covering several days before the disappearance.

Speculation surged again: why request footage from days earlier? Did the kids disappear earlier? That was addressed in a press briefing on May 28th, when RCMP confirmed Lily and Jack had been seen off the property by someone else on May 1st.

Malaya and Daniel reported a trip into town around noon on May 1st. There was a paper and video trail: gas, pharmacy, Starbucks, Tim Hortons, lunch at a restaurant, a Dollarama stop—multiple sightings and records. Their bank records aligned. This helped quiet the idea that the children had gone missing earlier than May 2nd.

At the same briefing, police asked the public for dash cam and surveillance footage along Gearlock Road covering April 28th to May 2nd. Reading between the lines, investigators appeared focused on traffic patterns and whether any unusual vehicles were present—especially given the tips about overnight driving.

The community responded. By June 11th, RCMP said the investigation had expanded to include over 11 units and consultations with national missing persons and child protection centers. They reported reviewing hundreds of hours of video, receiving 488 tips, and interviewing 54 people close to Lily and Jack. They also confirmed polygraphs had been conducted.

Both Daniel and Malaya voluntarily took polygraphs, and RCMP said they were truthful in denying involvement or knowledge about what happened. Cody Sullivan also took polygraphs—reportedly twice—and passed. Janie’s results were described as inconclusive due to physiology affecting accuracy. In total, seven polygraphs were administered, and none showed signs of deception.

On June 18th, a new concern became public: the children’s school had previously reported concerns to child protective services. Staff observed Lily and Jack were often late, behind academically, sometimes unclean, and sometimes not appropriately dressed for the weather. The school sometimes provided clothing, and eventually reported concerns.

Because records are sealed, details were limited, and speculation surged again. Daniel said it was a misunderstanding and framed it as related to recommendations for autism testing. Malaya had also mentioned early on that both children were possibly thought to have autism, and Daniel said appointments had been scheduled that month before the children disappeared. However, he did not publicly address all documented school concerns, and Malaya did not publicly comment.

Photos also circulated showing Jack with a black eye at school on more than one occasion. Daniel responded by saying Jack was clumsy and that the children played rough, describing it as normal childhood behavior. Belinda said she wished she had pushed harder to see the children more and described looking back at photos and feeling they appeared thinner, with dry, chapped lips.

On June 19th, Nova Scotia announced a $150,000 reward for information leading to the discovery of Lily and Jack or resolution of the case. The hope was that a large reward could persuade someone with a small detail—especially in a tight-knit community—to come forward. No immediate major breakthrough was publicly announced.

On July 16th, police confirmed the blanket piece did belong to Lily. They also revealed they found the rest of the blanket and a trash bag at the end of the driveway. According to Daniel and Malaya, the blanket had once been Lily’s favorite but was later repurposed as a draft blocker and removed a week or two before the disappearance as weather warmed. Investigators did not publicly share any forensic findings.

By that point, investigators said they had reviewed 5,000 video files, logged 600 tips, and conducted over 60 interviews. RCMP publicly acknowledged the case was unusual and that many expected the children would be found quickly. Yet they weren’t.

In late August, redacted search warrants and court documents were released after pushes for transparency. While heavily redacted, they offered a clearer picture of what investigators had been doing.

A major warrant dated May 16th involved searching and seizing Malaya and Daniel’s phones. Documents indicated they voluntarily handed them over and said GPS was enabled. Data reportedly aligned with their account of the morning, with no inconsistencies found.

Another warrant involved the children’s school bus footage, likely to confirm their last school day and document baseline information. Several warrants dated May 23rd were heavily redacted. A May 28th warrant involved toll records related to checking Cody’s movements, and later warrants focused on bank accounts.

Those financial records revealed significant strain. Malaya reportedly received $1,900 a month under the Canadian baby bonus program, and it had stopped before the disappearance, reportedly because Daniel failed to file taxes on time. Cody’s child support reportedly stopped about nine months prior after he lost his job. Daniel’s work hours dropped to one shift a week, and Daniel’s father, Earl, reportedly provided financial help with gas, groceries, wood for heat, and support.

This context raised new questions for the public, especially since Daniel had denied financial issues in interviews. RCMP said the nature of Malaya and Daniel’s relationship and circumstances remained part of the investigation.

Another warrant, dated July 4th, involved Malaya’s TextPlus account—an app used due to lack of cell service. A final warrant involved a thumb drive with recorded conversation content connected to a distant relative of Malaya’s, Darren Gettys. Gettys publicly accused Malaya of involvement, but these claims were not substantiated in what was described.

Documents indicated Malaya herself provided the thumb drive to RCMP, containing a recorded conversation between her grandmother and Gettys. The contents remained redacted and required legal verification regarding how the recording was obtained. Gettys had requested to speak with RCMP on May 30th, claiming he had information, but reportedly refused to be recorded and avoided questions, focusing instead on seeking details from investigators.

One of the most striking revelations in the unsealed documents involved a 911 call on May 2nd between 9:30 and 10:00 a.m.—the same window the children were believed to have left the property.

A woman driving on Gearlock Road with her own children reported seeing a little girl, possibly around nine, with brown hair in pigtails and a tank top with blue straps, holding hands with a younger boy around five with dirty blonde hair and shorts. She also reported seeing a woman around 50 to 60 with curly hair, a white shirt, and blue shorts, standing by an older tan or gold sedan with the rear passenger door open, near the train tracks and the intersection of Gearlock and Lansdowne Station Road.

What made this especially notable is that she called before the children were publicly reported missing. It wasn’t a hindsight memory sparked by news—it was a real-time concern. Authorities have not publicly confirmed whether this is related, but the timing and location have kept it at the center of speculation.

Taken together, the warrants show investigators pursued wide avenues: phones, GPS, bank records, toll footage, bus footage, video files, tips, interviews, and forensic work. They also seized the family’s car on May 5th for forensic testing. Physical evidence like bootprint castings and the blanket piece were collected.

In late September 2025, cadaver dogs searched the area around the home—another heartbreaking shift acknowledging the likelihood the children were no longer alive. Over three days, dogs covered roughly 40 kilometers, including the home, property, nearby trails, and the blanket location. Nothing was detected, though RCMP noted that does not completely rule out the presence of remains.

In October 2025, RCMP provided an update about the neighbor vehicle tips, stating both were not substantiated. They said hours of surveillance footage along Gearlock Road showed no vehicle movement matching what the neighbors described. Both neighbors continued to insist they heard what they heard, but investigators said they could not corroborate it.

By mid-November 2025, a nonprofit group, Please Bring Me Home, conducted another volunteer search at Belinda’s request, with Malaya’s support. Volunteers searched areas a few kilometers from the home. Even with continued efforts, there were still no answers, and many struggled to reconcile how the children could have wandered off and never been found after such extensive searching.

Water remained a haunting possibility, despite underwater recovery efforts on May 8th and 9th and continued checks around waterways. RCMP noted water searches are notoriously difficult, and “not found” doesn’t always mean “not there.”

In late October, a small vigil was held for Jack’s fifth birthday. People gathered with candles, toys, and cards. Daniel attended and spoke to media, acknowledging he knew his credibility was questioned, but said he would keep speaking to raise awareness.

Malaya did not attend the public vigil, holding a private celebration instead.

As of now, there have been no arrests and no named persons of interest. Lily and Jack still have not been found.

Scrutiny of Malaya and Daniel has been intense from the beginning. Every movement, every statement, every perceived inconsistency has been dissected. While it’s human nature to look for cracks when a story feels confusing, what has been confirmed through investigative steps—phones, GPS, warrants, interviews, polygraphs—has largely aligned so far.

RCMP have not said Malaya or Daniel are suspects. Despite their strained relationship, both have publicly said the other is a good parent and neither had involvement. If anything changes or new evidence emerges, RCMP has indicated they will act accordingly.

Theories remain: did the children wander into the woods and succumb to the elements, fall into water, or reach some hidden hazard like an abandoned mine? Was a stranger abduction possible, despite its statistical rarity—especially in a tiny, remote community? Does the 911 call about children near the intersection connect to Lily and Jack?

Belinda has said she doesn’t believe her grandchildren are alive, but she believes answers exist—because two children don’t vanish in the morning and nobody knows anything. She has said if answers aren’t outside the home, then they are inside it.

On New Year’s Eve, the major crimes unit stated that more than 12,000 hours of searching have been completed. Investigators said they understand public frustration but must proceed by the book, considering whether charges may eventually be laid. They emphasized the process takes time, and it will take more time.

If you have information about the disappearance of Lily and Jack Sullivan, contact Nova Scotia RCMP or Crime Stoppers. Tip submission guidance has included a note that helpful tips may require testimony later, alongside anonymous reporting options.

I’m still shocked Lily and Jack haven’t been found. Like many people, I initially believed they would be located quickly—maybe not in the way anyone hoped, but located. I never expected nearly a year would pass with no answers at all.

I’m constantly checking for updates, and I will share new information as it becomes available. Thank you for taking the time to listen to Lily and Jack’s story. If you haven’t already, subscribe to become part of the Howland fam so we can keep pushing for answers together.

I’ll see you in my next video.