It is Monday morning, the 19th of May.

In this video, we’re going to talk about the latest in the search for six-year-old Lily and four-year-old Jack Sullivan, who have been missing now since May 2nd. At least, they were reported missing around 10:00 a.m. on May 2nd from their home in Lansstone Station, Pictou County, Nova Scotia, Canada.

A massive search effort was undertaken in the first six days. On May 7th, that search was called off by the RCMP, being scaled down in favor of other investigative avenues. On May 8th and 9th, the RCMP conducted several water searches, including at Landstone Lake, and then that was that. We heard nothing else — apart from rumors, speculation, and the usual stuff that comes out on the internet during these kinds of cases.

Then, on Friday — this past Friday — it was announced that searchers would be back in the area of Gearlock Road, around the children’s home. I was so hopeful. They said they were going to be searching some areas that had been searched before, but also venturing into newer areas.

We know from the first search that they covered 5.5 kilometers, which is 3.4 square miles. That area gives a radius of just over a mile, but they concentrated more on the west. So, we had two days — Saturday and Sunday — with over 100 searchers out there, and still nothing.

The search has now ended. The search is over, and we don’t know when there’s going to be another one.

So, in this video, let’s talk about what happened yesterday.

This is the notice from the Nova Scotia RCMP:

Ground and air search efforts were conducted today, May 18th, in Pictou County, as a missing persons investigation into the disappearance of Lily and Jack Sullivan continues. More than 115 volunteer searchers from Colchester, East Hants, Eastern Shore, Halifax, Musquodoboit (I’m sorry if I pronounced that wrong), Valley, Pictou County, Pugwash, Springhill, Strait Area, Valley and West Ground Search and Rescue, and the Civil Air Search and Rescue Association focused on specific areas around Gearlock Road in an effort to locate Lily and Jack and advance the RCMP investigation.

They’ve got to find them — sooner rather than later.

I know the authorities believe they’re deceased. It’s not the “all hands on deck, all hours of the day and night” kind of search anymore when you’re hoping and praying the missing person is still alive. This is very much, according to the RCMP, a recovery effort. But locating them now at least brings hope of being able to ascertain the cause and manner of Jack and Lily’s deaths.

The longer it goes on — and it’s horrible — the more decomposition sets in, and cause and manner of death become almost impossible to establish, depending on how they died. I mean, if there’s injury to the bones, you’d be able to see that, but otherwise, a lot of evidence would be lost.

The search was supported by Nova Scotia Public Safety Field Communications and EHS Emergency Preparedness Special Operations. This search follows a large-scale air and ground search that began on May 2nd and was scaled back on May 7th in favor of more specific searches.

“We extend our sincere appreciation to the search and rescue volunteers who have selflessly given more than 10,000 hours of their time since this search began,” said Sergeant Curtis McKinnon, Pictou County District RCMP.
“Their tireless commitment in truly grueling conditions is appreciated by both the RCMP and the greater community.”

This weekend’s search will be carefully reviewed and assessed by investigators and search managers to help plan any further ground and air search efforts. So — in planning any further. It doesn’t say there will be more. It just says they’re going to assess this to see what comes next.

So, is this the last major push? It could well be. That’s pretty demoralizing.

This is from the Facebook page of True Row and Colchester Code One Coverage. They offer quality, safety-focused coverage of first responders doing their work — creating awareness and education about first responder teams’ roles and responsibilities. They’ve been shadowing the searchers — not in the search areas themselves, but nearby. They’re the ones who take the photos.

As the second search period winds down, we want once again to recognize all those who were boots on the ground and in the air. Tomorrow on this page, we will focus on the drone team’s contribution over the weekend and how that works. But for now, we want to appreciate what today was like.

The weather in the area hovered between 8 and 10°C (I’ll put the Fahrenheit on screen). It felt like it rained or misted all day long. Teams spent long stretches in the woods near the home where Lily and Jack lived — going over that area once again and focusing on specific areas around Gearlock Road in an effort to locate Lily and Jack and advance the RCMP investigation.

As searchers came back for a late lunch break, they were wet, cold, and fatigued. Warm chili and soup, as well as sandwiches, were available. The food at the site was plentiful, and hot apple crisp — sounds nice — was very much appreciated by the searchers, as some only took half a break to eat, change into a dry pair of gloves, and head back out.

Tim Hortons ran out — fresh, I assume that means coffee and treats as well. Thanks, Jim Shaw.

Today seemed a little wetter and a lot dirtier, as many searchers came back with pockets and packs full of pine needles — and often ticks.

The RCMP, Nova Scotia Public Safety Field Communications, and EHS Emergency Preparedness Special Operations were also working today. Thank you to all those who spent their cool, wet Sunday helping others. We appreciate you.

In the spirit of this post, they welcome comments expressing appreciation for the work done to date. That is the sole purpose of the post — please refrain from speculation and unfounded theories.

Let’s look at this CBC report. “Ground search for missing Pictou County kids ends for now.” That’s the search manager, Amy Hansen.

The ground search for the two missing Pictou County siblings ended Sunday, according to an RCMP news release — as we’ve just read.

Six-year-old Lily and four-year-old Jack Sullivan went missing from their home in Lansdowne Station, a sparsely populated area about 140 km northeast of Halifax.

The initial ground search efforts were called off on May 7th, with ground search and rescue teams only returning to the area on Saturday.

We know that 115 searchers took part yesterday. We’ve read that. This is new: interviewed Sunday afternoon, Amy Hansen, one of the search managers, said Saturday’s search went very well. She said searchers covered 1.5 square kilometers of area. That’s fairly small, to be honest — as well as high-probability areas around waterways.

Wonder why there’s a focus around waterways? Are Jack and Lily drawn to water? A lot of kids are.

Hansen said she wasn’t aware of anything being found during Saturday’s search. So, we don’t know about Sunday’s.

“We’re not anticipating continuing tomorrow, but that’s a conversation that has to happen with the RCMP incident commander later on in the day.”

That was said hours before the RCMP released their statement — so we now know they’re not continuing today.

Hansen also said the searchers did not cover as much ground as expected Saturday. They were hampered by fallen trees and branches left by post-tropical storm Fiona, which hit Nova Scotia in September 2022.

“The ticks are always a problem. We had some fresh bear prints found yesterday. It’s Nova Scotia woods at this point.”

On Saturday, Daniel (the stepdad) told CBC News he was grateful for the search efforts:

“Just hoping for something positive — a positive outcome. That’s bringing the kids home. That’s the main goal here — just to find the truth.”

Let’s listen to this little piece from a couple of days ago:

These woods, scoured for a week without a trace of two missing kids, are about to be examined again. Officials now confirm the search surrounding the home of Lily and Jack Sullivan will resume Saturday — likely as a recovery effort.
The county as a whole, and the province as a whole, I think, need to know what happened in this case.

Police say the four- and six-year-olds wandered away two weeks ago and said they had no evidence the children were abducted. But the RCMP didn’t announce the involvement of the major crimes unit until days after it was brought in — nor that it hadn’t ruled out the disappearance being suspicious.

The RCMP declined an interview request and would not answer specific questions about the case. For instance, it’s unclear why investigators are so certain the children were not abducted. Officials haven’t said who — other than their family — last saw the kids.

After dozens of interviews and more than 180 tips from the public, still no answers.

“It just doesn’t add up on many levels.”

This criminologist questioned the way RCMP are sharing information about the case — relying on public tips but giving few details.

I do find it ironic that they ask the public not to speculate — but then they bring in experts to speculate. “This was a red flag,” or “They went the wrong direction early on.” Come on.