A timeline of key events in the case of missing N.S. children Lilly and Jack Sullivan

Investigators urge the public to bring ‘fact-based’ information forward related to the disappearance of Lilly and Jack Sullivan, who went missing last year.

Almost a year has passed since Lilly and Jack Sullivan were reported missing from their home in Lansdowne Station, N.S., on May 2, 2025.

Several searches have been conducted since then, but little evidence has been found, and the circumstances surrounding their disappearance remain a mystery.

The children’s mother and stepfather, Malehya Brooks-Murray and Daniel Martell, have denied any wrongdoing in the case.

Police continue to call it a missing persons case, and the province is offering a reward of up to $150,000 for information that helps police solve it.

Here is a timeline of key events related to the disappearance of the Sullivan siblings:

May 2, 2025

Lilly, 6, and Jack, 4, are reported missing from their home on Gairloch Road in Lansdowne Station, N.S., a small rural community in Pictou County.

Police say the children were last seen around 10 a.m. and are believed to have wandered into the woods. They issue a “missing vulnerable person” alert.

The RCMP launches an extensive search, with ground search and rescue teams, the Civil Air Search and Rescue Association, the Department of Natural Resources Air Services, and several RCMP units taking part.

May 3, 2025

The search for the missing children continues, with roughly 160 people involved.

Malehya Brooks-Murray tells CTV News Atlantic she heard Lilly and Jack playing in the next room when she woke up the previous morning and drifted back to sleep. When she woke up, she says they were gone, and she assumed they had slipped out the sliding door and were playing outside.

Brooks-Murray says she and her partner, Daniel Martell, started looking for them and called 911.

The RCMP says it isn’t ruling out any possibilities, but there is no evidence to suggest the children were abducted.

Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston releases a statement, saying people in the province “are praying for a positive outcome.”

May 6, 2025

Daniel Martell tells CTV News Atlantic he and Brooks-Murray have been dating for three years and have an 18-month-old child named Meadow together.

He says he and Brooks-Murray asked Lilly and Jack to quiet down the morning of May 2 so as not to disturb Meadow. He says Lilly poked her head in their room.

Martell says he could hear Jack in the kitchen but eventually he couldn’t hear anything. He believes it took them about 20 minutes to realize the children were gone.

After searching the house and backyard, Martell says he jumped in his vehicle and went looking for them.

Martell says Brooks-Murray is now staying with family outside Pictou County and hasn’t spoken to him since she left.

May 7, 2025

The RCMP announces it is scaling back the search for Lilly and Jack, stating “the likelihood that they’re alive right now is very low.”

Police say they will transition from a full-scale search to more targeted searches in specific areas.

The children’s stepfather, Daniel Martell, tells CTV News Atlantic he is disappointed police are scaling back the search, but he isn’t giving up hope.

Martell says he has been cooperating with the police and gave them a four-hour interview where he provided details about the morning Lilly and Jack went missing.

May 13, 2025

The RCMP provides an update on the case, saying it has received more than 180 tips from the public and interviewed 35 people, including community members and “those closest” to Lilly and Jack.

Police confirm RCMP divers searched bodies of water around Lansdowne Station but found no evidence of the missing children.

Police say major crime and forensic investigators are involved in the case and they will continue to “work day and night” on the file.

May 17 and 18, 2025

Roughly 100 Ground Search and Rescue members from across Nova Scotia return to Lansdowne Station and conduct another search on the ground and from the air using drones.

There is still no sign of the missing children.

May 28, 2025

The RCMP provides another update, confirming Lilly and Jack were seen in public with family members the afternoon of May 1 – the day before they were reported missing.

Police say they have collected hours of video from the Lansdowne Station area and ask anyone with video footage from the area to contact the RCMP.

The RCMP says investigators have received more than 355 tips and interviewed more than 50 people.

May 31 and June 1, 2025

Roughly 75 people with ground search and rescue teams return to the Gairloch Road area and expand their search.

There is still no sign of the missing children.

June 11, 2025

The RCMP releases another update, confirming some of the 54 people interviewed about Lilly and Jack’s disappearance were given polygraph tests.

Police will not say how many tests were administered, who took the tests, or what the results were.

Police say they have received 488 tips and collected hundreds of hours of videos from the Lansdowne Station area.

June 12, 2025

The children’s stepfather tells CTV News Atlantic he was among those who took a polygraph test and that he volunteered to do so.

Daniel Martell says he was asked whether he was involved in the children’s disappearance. He also says police confiscated his cellphone.

June 19, 2025

The Nova Scotia Department of Justice announces it’s offering a cash reward of up to $150,000 for information about the children’s disappearance, through its Reward for Major Unsolved Crimes Program.

July 16, 2025

The RCMP provides another update, stating it’s reviewing roughly 5,000 video files and assessing more than 600 tips from the public.

Police say they have formally interviewed more than 60 people, and some have taken polygraph tests.

Police also confirm they are conducting a forensic examination on a pink blanket found near the home the day the children were reported missing. They say the family confirmed the blanket belonged to Lilly.

August 2025

Newly-released court documents reveal that investigators found a second piece of pink blanket in a trash bag at the end of the driveway of the children’s home on May 4, 2025. Police confirm the piece was part of the same blanket found the day the children were reported missing.

They also reveal the RCMP conducted at least four polygraphs, including two with the children’s mother and stepfather, on May 12. According to the documents, Daniel Martell’s polygraph “indicated he was truthful,” as did the test for Brooks-Murray that found she was truthful when answering specific questions, although the list of questions is redacted in the document.

An investigator states in the document, “at this point in the investigation Jack and Lilly’s disappearance is not believed to be criminal in nature.”

The documents reveal the children’s step-grandmother, Janie MacKenzie, underwent a polygraph examination but notes that her “physiology was not suitable for analysis and an opinion on the polygraph examination was not rendered.”

The children’s biological father, Cody Sullivan, underwent a polygraph on June 12, 2025, and passed the examination, with his answers found to be “truthful.”

The documents also reveal police spoke with Sullivan on May 22, 2025. He told them he had not seen the children or their mother in three years.

Sept. 19, 2025

The RCMP says two cadaver dogs and their handlers are coming from British Columbia to search the area for the missing children.

Oct. 8, 2025

Police confirm the cadaver dogs searched a total of 40 kilometres in the Lansdowne Station area in late September but failed to locate any human remains.

The RCMP says it has conducted 80 formal interviews, investigated more than 860 tips and reviewed 8,060 video files connected to the case.

Oct. 22, 2025

The children’s biological grandmother, Belynda Gray, confirms to CTV News Atlantic that her son has not been involved in the children’s lives for more than two years.

Gray says her relationship with Maleyha Brooks-Murray became distant over time before the children went missing. She says she heard from Brooks-Murray a few weeks before they disappeared and they were supposed to get together, but the visit never happened.

Gray says Brooks-Murray has left Pictou County and has stopped contacting her.

Nov. 15 and 16, 2025

Roughly 30 people conduct a search organized by Ontario-based group Bring Me Home, which assists in finding missing people.

They focus their attention on local waterways in the Lansdowne Station area, but nothing significant is found.

January 2025

Newly-unsealed court documents reveal Malehya Brooks-Murray accused Daniel Martell of being physically abusive during their three-year relationship.

The documents include excerpts from police interviews and unproven allegations from Brooks-Murray. According to the documents, Brooks-Murray alleges Martell would hold her down and once pushed her.

The documents include portions of a statement Martell gave to police on May 6, 2025. He said they would yell at each other when fighting, but said there was no physical violence.

The allegations have not been tested in court.

Jan. 29, 2026

The RCMP confirms Daniel Martell was arrested and charged with assault, forcible confinement and sexual assault on Jan. 26, 2026.

Court documents state the victim was a female and the alleged incidents happened on Gairloch Road on Dec. 1, 2024, roughly six months before the children disappeared.

The allegations have not been tested in court and the charges are not related to the disappearance of Lilly and Jack.

Feb. 3, 2026

Police provide another update, on National Missing Persons Day. They say they have received 1,111 tips and are “actively engaged in more than 1,400 investigative tasks as part of their ongoing efforts.”

February 2026

Belynda Gray says she is seeking guardianship of her grandchildren so she can access documents she has no access to, including reports from Child Protective Service and the children’s school.

Police conduct another round of polygraph tests but won’t say who was tested or the nature of the questions asked.

March 2, 2026

Daniel Martell is arraigned on charges of assault, unlawful confinement and sexual assault in Pictou provincial court.

A publication ban on any information that could identify the alleged victim is ordered.

The allegations have not been tested in court and the charges are not related to the disappearance of Lilly and Jack.

March 30, 2026

Daniel Martell’s lawyer appears on his behalf in Pictou provincial court and requests more time to review newly-disclosed evidence.

The case is adjourned until May 4.

April 25 and 26, 2026

About 50 people launch another search, headed by Bring Me Home, in the woods of Lansdowne Station. A cadaver dog also joins the search.

There is no indication the search yielded any results.

With files from The Canadian Press and CTV News Atlantic staff

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