Lost in the Woods or Taken? The Disappearance of Lilly and Jack Sullivan | Full Story Revealed
Lily Sullivan was six years old. Her younger brother, Jack, had just turned four. Both children lived with their mother, Malaya Sullivan, and her partner, Daniel Martell, in a modest home on the edge of Lanstown Station, Nova Scotia—a small, wooded community that many would describe as quiet, even isolated.

Lily was in Grade 1 at the French immersion elementary school in Antigonish. Her teacher, in a statement to CBC News, remembered her as “bright-eyed, curious, and always singing to herself when she thought no one was listening.” Jack had just started attending a local daycare and, according to friends of the family, was “glued to Lily’s side,” often mimicking her every move. “He wouldn’t even go to the bathroom without asking her first,” one friend said. “They were like twins.”

Malaya, 28, had grown up in Lanstown Station. Her parents still live nearby, though they declined to speak with reporters after the children’s disappearance. According to friends, Malaya left the area briefly after high school but returned shortly after giving birth to Lily. The identity of the children’s biological father has not been made public. Multiple individuals who knew Malaya said he was “not in the picture” and that Malaya was, for the most part, raising the children alone until she met Daniel in 2021.

Daniel Martell, 33, grew up in New Glasgow but had extended family in Lanstown Station and frequently visited the area as a child. According to neighbors, he moved in with Malaya and the children in the fall of 2022. The couple kept a low profile, and while a few locals recall hearing arguments, others described them as “a quiet little family.”

Daniel’s record, however, complicates that picture. Court documents obtained by The Chronicle Herald reveal that Daniel was convicted of assault in 2016 and had been involved in several domestic disputes reported to police between 2017 and 2020. While none of those incidents led to charges involving Malaya, at least one involved a previous partner who had filed for an emergency protection order. When asked about Daniel’s past, an RCMP spokesperson stated only that “all relevant history is being taken into consideration.”

Malaya’s own background is more opaque. In a now-deleted Facebook post from 2023, she described herself as “trying to do my best every single day for my littles.” Friends have said she “lived for those kids” and didn’t have much of a social life outside of them. However, others paint a more complicated picture, alleging that Malaya had become increasingly withdrawn in the months leading up to the children’s disappearance. One former friend told reporters she had noticed signs of stress and tension between Malaya and Daniel. “She stopped texting back,” the friend said. “And when she did, it was just emojis or excuses.”

The family lived on a rented property off Lanstown Road, near a stand of woods and a disused trail that once led to a seasonal hunting camp. Locals say the area is peaceful but eerily quiet in the off-season. The nearest neighbors live over half a kilometer away.

On the morning of May 3, 2025, that quiet was shattered. According to initial reports, Lily and Jack were last seen at home around 10:15 a.m. Malaya claimed she had briefly stepped out to speak with a neighbor—an account the RCMP has not confirmed. When she returned, the children were gone.

What followed was one of the most extensive missing persons searches in recent Nova Scotia history. But the deeper the community—and the public—dug into the lives of Lily and Jack Sullivan, the more questions surfaced.