Crews resuming search efforts for missing Sullivan children this weekend

CITYnews halifax / By Mark Hodgins

The RCMP say ground search and rescue teams will be back in Pictou County this weekend as the investigation into the disappearance of two siblings continues.

It’s been nearly one month since six-year-old Lilly and four-year-old Jack Sullivan were reported missing from their home in Lansdowne Station, a small community in northeastern Nova Scotia.

On Friday, the RCMP confirmed a ground search will happen on Saturday, May 31, focusing on Gairloch Road and the nearby pipeline trail where a boot print had previously been found.

To date, the area searched for the pair is about 5.5 square kilometres. The public is being asked to avoid the area to allow searchers to do their work.

The Sullivan children were reported missing on May 2. In an update earlier this week, investigators confirmed the last time two missing children were seen in public.

Related:

• RCMP narrows down timeline of Sullivan children disappearance; asks for public videos
• Sullivan children still missing after Mounties search nearby lakes, interview family members
• 3 weeks since two young children reported missing in rural Nova Scotia

“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,” says Cpl. Sandy Matharu, Northeast Nova RCMP Major Crime Unit.

Police are asking people to send them dashcam footage or videos along Gairloch Road between 12:00 p.m. on April 28 and 12:00 p.m. on May 2 — the week leading up to the children going missing.

The Mounties add in the press release that they are “committed to exploring all possibilities” surrounding the children’s disappearance. When asked by CityNews if one of the possibilities is abduction, RCMP said, “We have no information or evidence at this time that indicates Lilly and Jack were abducted.”

According to officials, more than 50 people have been formally interviewed, with more expected to take place in the coming days.

This is one of several searches that have happened since Mounties scaled back the efforts on May 7.

Four-year-old Jack Sullivan, left, and six-year-old Lilly Sullivan, right, were last seen around 10 a.m., May in the community of Lansdowne Station. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Nova Scotia Ground Search and Rescue Association)