Janie McKenzie Speaks Out: “I Believe Jack and Lily Are Still Alive”

Lanstown Station, Nova Scotia — July 18, 2025
For the first time since six-year-old Lily Sullivan and her four-year-old brother Jack vanished on May 2, the children’s step-grandmother, Janie McKenzie, has given a public interview. Speaking to CBC News from her rural property in Lanstown Station, McKenzie recounted what she saw and heard on the morning the children disappeared—details she hopes will clarify the timeline and calm the storm of speculation that has swirled for over 11 weeks.

“I blame myself for not getting up that morning to see the kids. If I had, this would never have happened,” McKenzie said through tears.

According to McKenzie, she awoke that morning to the sound of her dog barking. Moments later, she heard the familiar voices of Lily and Jack playing outside near the swing set she had built in the backyard. Her trailer bedroom, just steps away from the play area, gave her a clear auditory line to the children’s usual activity.

But soon after, everything went quiet. The next voice she heard was her son, Daniel Martell, calling out the children’s names.

“At first, I thought he was just calling them inside,” she said. “But about ten minutes later, I stepped outside and saw Malayah Brooks Murray, the children’s mother, standing in the driveway with her baby on her hip. She told me Jack and Lily had been missing for about 20 minutes.”

That critical “20-minute” window has become a focal point of online debate—and McKenzie admits even she isn’t sure when exactly it began. She had been on the phone with her brother at 8:48 a.m., then dozed off shortly afterward. That places the earliest possible time of disappearance at just after 9:00 a.m., but no precise timestamp has been confirmed by authorities.

McKenzie immediately began searching the woods behind her property, a heavily wooded area made even more difficult to navigate by fallen trees left by post-tropical storm Fiona in 2022. She insists that given how difficult the terrain is—even for adults—it seems highly unlikely that two small children could have wandered far on their own.

“We’ve walked those woods before. I had to practically carry Jack,” she explained. “There’s no way they made it far without someone noticing.”

Despite an intensive search involving drones, helicopters, tracking dogs, and specialized RCMP units from across Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Ontario, only two boot prints and a piece of a pink blanket—confirmed to belong to Lily—have been recovered.

Contradictions and Online Speculation

This interview also casts doubt on earlier accounts provided by Darren Gettis, a distant cousin of Brooks Murray’s grandmother, who has been vocal online about his version of events. Previously, Gettis claimed that Lily and Jack had been driven away by a friend of Malayah’s—a version McKenzie never mentions and appears to contradict.

“I gave Derwood [Darren] the benefit of the doubt,” said one online commentator. “But now that Janie is speaking for herself, it’s clear something’s not lining up.”

McKenzie also addressed long-standing rumors that she or her son were somehow involved in the children’s disappearance, emphasizing that their property has been thoroughly searched multiple times by law enforcement. This includes the trailer, a mobile home, the well, the septic tank, outbuildings, and even underneath the mobile home using drone surveillance.

“If they want to come back and search again, they’re more than welcome,” she said firmly. “This place has been combed through.”

RCMP have confirmed that they are following up on over 600 public tips, have reviewed 5,000 video files, and have interviewed more than 60 individuals. A polygraph test was administered to Daniel Martell, which he claims he passed.

Still, suspicions remain—fueled in part by inconsistencies in earlier public statements and a lack of clarity around the timeline. Critics have pointed out that details from both Martell and Brooks Murray have shifted over time, contributing to public skepticism.

A Family Under Scrutiny

Since the children disappeared, McKenzie says her life has become unrecognizable.

“Cars slow down outside the house. People fly drones over my roof. I keep my head down when I go outside because I don’t want to be recognized,” she said. “It’s not because I’m hiding—I’m just a quiet person. I want to be left alone.”

She also revealed that she has not been able to see her other grandchildren—Martell’s children from a previous relationship—since the disappearance.

“I went from seeing five grandchildren to none. I just want to hear someone call me ‘Granny’ again,” she said.

McKenzie maintains she does not believe Jack and Lily are dead.

“If something bad had happened, my heart would have dropped. But it hasn’t. Deep down, I believe they’re alive.”

Ongoing Investigation

The RCMP has not ruled out any possibilities, including that the children may still be alive. A forensic analysis is ongoing on the pink blanket found along Landstown Road on the first day of the search. Officers continue to appeal for information and ask anyone with potential evidence to come forward.