Search for 2 missing N.S. children to continue overnight, RCMP say

Nova Scotia RCMP say the search for two missing children in Pictou County is expected to carry on into the night on Monday.

Lily Sullivan, 6, and Jack Sullivan, 4, were last seen Friday morning at their home on Gairloch Road in Lansdowne Station, about 20 kilometres southwest of New Glasgow.

"It has been a few days, but that has not dampened the hopes of the [search] teams and the police who are here trying to get these kids home," RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Carlie McCann told reporters on Monday afternoon.

Police and rescue agencies have been combing the wooded area for the children, who they believe wandered off from their home. They've asked the public to stay away as trained searchers conduct their work.

McCann said drones and specially trained ground search and rescue crews would be involved in the search effort at night. She said police dog services could also be used.

"There's a variety of things that can happen even when it's going to be more difficult in those nighttime conditions … the searches have continued 24/7 since this has been reported," she said.

Amy Hansen, the search manager for the day shifts with Colchester Ground Search and Rescue, told reporters on Monday that 100 to 140 ground searchers have been used during the day and from 60 to 75 at night.

Robert Parker, the warden of the Municipality of Pictou County, told CBC News it was a stressful weekend for people in his community and beyond.

"They often say it takes a village to raise a child. Well, all of Pictou County is a village right now and everybody is hoping and praying these little ones are going to be found," Parker told CBC News.

He said it's important that people don't get carried away speculating on social media about what might have happened.

"Seen somebody said to leave the families be, they're having a tough time, I'm sure. Just put yourself in the case of your children missing or your grandchildren missing and the terrific amount of stress that's there," Parker said.

"And so I think the family should be left alone with their people there to comfort them. The best we can do is try to support the searchers."

Donald Parker, a councillor with the municipality of Pictou County, said many people just want to help. But it's important to listen to the authorities, he said.

"Everybody in the community is concerned and worried, but we're all hoping for the best here," said the councillor, who has been visiting the search sites each day. "It's hard on the whole community.… It's incredibly tough."

About 160 people were involved in the search Sunday despite a rainy forecast that made for some challenging conditions. RCMP have said searchers located what could be a footprint on Saturday and expanded their search effort in that area.

"Searchers are diligently keeping track of which specific sections of the ground have been covered, and are applying their specialized skills to allow the searchers on scene to stay safe," McCann said in an email earlier Monday.

Meanwhile, the stepfather of the children said he wants authorities to expand their search to monitor the New Brunswick border and nearby airports in case the children were abducted.

Daniel Martell, who has been in a relationship with the children's mother for three years, said he feels the police response was not swift enough and that more resources should have been made available.

He said the last time he saw the children he and their mother were in their bedroom with their baby on Friday morning. 

He said Lily came into the bedroom several times and he could hear Jack in the kitchen.

The children must have opened the sliding back door, which is almost silent, and left, he said.

"When we noticed that the children were gone, I immediately jumped in the vehicle, surveyed all the areas, [as] many dirt roads, [as] many culverts as I could and waited for the police to get there," Martell told CBC News.

On Saturday, the children's mother, Malehya Brooks-Murray, spoke to CTV News. 

"I'm just staying as hopeful as possible, I want them home, I want to hold them and I want them home," she told CTV.

She said she appreciates the huge search effort but said she has been pushing for an Amber Alert to be sent.

"Not just that they could possibly be abducted — which it is a possibility that they could have been — but just an alert to let everyone know that they are missing."

Police said on Friday there is no evidence the children were abducted, so no Amber Alert was issued. But the RCMP issued a vulnerable missing persons alert for Antigonish, Colchester and Pictou counties late Saturday afternoon.

Martell said Jack is in pre-primary and Lily is in primary. He said they were not at school on Friday because Lily had a cough.

He said Jack and Lily are not just siblings — "they're like best friends." Jack loves bugs and dinosaurs, and Lily loves "girly things."

"If anybody out there has anything, come forward now," said Martell on Monday in an interview outside the home where the children went missing.

Martell said two boot tracks were found near his home, as well as another nearby, and that is the only evidence authorities have uncovered so far.

A spokesperson for the Chignecto Central Regional Centre for Education confirmed on Monday that the children attend Salt Springs Elementary in Salt Springs, N.S.

"During this difficult time, the school has additional support staff on site ready to help staff and students with questions and provide calm coping strategies," Jennifer Rodgers wrote in an email.

"The school has also shared a message with its families which included a resource guide for parents."

Maj. Daniel Roode of the Salvation Army said his organization has been providing breakfast, lunch and dinner to the various agencies involved in the search since Saturday.

"We're going full tilt," said Roode from a kitchen in Westville, N.S., adding as many as 150 searchers were getting a hearty stew for lunch on Monday.

"We hope to see searchers and police and responders well fed … but we're hoping most of all that some answers will be found and most of all that those children would be found safe and sound."

Anyone with information about the children is urged to call Pictou County District RCMP at 902-485-4333.