Searcher says no sign of missing N.S. children as renewed search enters second day
LANSDOWNE STATION – The head of the search-and-rescue team looking for signs of two young children who went missing in rural Nova Scotia a month ago says searchers have not found any new evidence as of this afternoon.
The search for four-year-old Jack Sullivan and his six-year-old sister Lilly Sullivan, who were reported missing from their home in Lansdowne Station on May 2, resumed this weekend for two days of targeted searching.
Amy Hansen, Colchester County ground search-and-rescue manager, says this weekend's renewed search is focused on the Gairloch Road area — near where the children lived — and along a nearby 'pipeline trail,' where a small boot print was previously found.
Hansen says the team of searchers are working hard to move through the rough and densely wooded terrain that's packed with thick brush and downed trees from post-tropical storm Fiona, which hit the region in 2022.
The search manager says the challenging terrain means grid searching is time consuming, and as of about 2 p.m. Sunday, searchers had not found any signs of the children.
The initial, large-scale search-and-rescue effort was scaled back May 7, and the search this weekend marks the second time ground search teams have been asked to return to focus on specific areas.
When the first search ended on May 7, RCMP said they did not expect to find the children alive in the surrounding woods. But they said searching would resume if they received fresh information.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 1, 2025.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CTV News
21 minutes ago
- CTV News
Nova Scotia man accused of sexually abusing Lloydminster youth
An undated photo of Travis James Birt, who was arrested and charged with sexual offences against a Lloydminster, Alta., youth in May 2025. (Source: Alberta RCMP) A Nova Scotia man has been accused of sexually abusing a minor in Lloydminster, Alta. Travis James Birt, 29, is originally from Nova Scotia but was living in Ontario when police say he began a Snapchat exchange of sexually explicit pictures with the Lloydminster youth. He then went to Lloydminster to commit other offences, according to Lloydminster RCMP, to whom the crimes were reported on March 18. As Birt moved back to Nova Scotia while police were investigating, Nova Scotia police executed the arrest warrant on May 27. Birt was charged with sexual assault, sexual interference, child luring, possession of child pornography and making sexually explicit material available to a child. He is scheduled to appear in court in Lloydminster on Monday. Mounties said there could be other victims.
CTV News
2 hours ago
- CTV News
Missing Airdrie woman found, police say
Airdrie RCMP say a woman reported missing has been found. Police issued the alert about the individual Wednesday night, saying she hadn't been seen since June 4. No further details are provided.
National Observer
2 hours ago
- National Observer
BC First Nation builds small island, fisheries officials check for possible habitat damage
A British Columbia First Nation has built up a small artificial island in the tidal shallows of Coles Bay off Vancouver Island, triggering an investigation by fisheries officials into whether it involved habitat destruction and if authorization should have been required. Two yellow excavators could be seen at work last week in the bay, heaping up stones and gravel on top of an existing rock outcrop, in a project the Department of Fisheries and Ocean said was linked to a "clam garden." Nearby resident Richard Smith said he watched dump trucks carry loads of rock to the shore, where the excavators hauled it into the bay, also building a temporary land bridge during the construction process. He said the rock outcrop was previously visible at low tide, but the island is now exposed at all times after the construction, which lasted from May 26 to May 30. The Canadian Press watched the excavators at work on May 30, then saw that they had left the scene later that day. That afternoon, about 20 workers, some wearing outfits with the logo of the Pauquachin First Nation, were on the bay's mud flats spreading what one described as "shell hash." The worker declined to be identified. Shell hash, made of finely ground sea shells, is used in some aquaculture operations to promote growth of mollusks, such as clams. The Department of Fisheries and Ocean was asked by The Canadian Press about the construction last Friday, and on Tuesday the department said in a statement it was "aware of work being undertaken involving excavators and dump trucks to move and stockpile rocks in Coles Bay, BC, to facilitate construction of a clam garden," a traditional form of aquaculture. It said fisheries officers and biologists visited the site on Monday to evaluate the work. "Assessment of the work will determine whether there has been any harmful alternation, disruption or destruction of fish and fish habitat that would require authorization under the Fisheries Act," the statement said, adding that "it would be premature to comment further at this time." Work above the high-water mark occurred on Pauquachin territory, maps show. The First Nation did not respond to questions about the work. But it had previously announced an event in August to build a "traditional sea garden" in Coles Bay, with guests invited to help construct a 250-metre long wall on the tidal flats using "mindfully sourced and prepared rocks" from a quarry. "A traditionally designed sea garden will nurture clam beds, welcome the return of numerous sea life, provide food sustainability, awaken sleeping traditional teachings, harvesting practices and sharing to future generations," a description says on a Pauquachin First Nation website. Shellfish harvesting in Coles Bay was prohibited in 1997 on health grounds because of pollution from septic systems. The Pauquachin First Nation of 423 people along the western shore of the Saanich Peninsula has said the prohibition represents an "infringement" of traditional fishing rights granted under an 1852 treaty. Chief Rebecca David said in a June 2023 letter to the provincial government that government-authorized septic systems represent the "primary source of pollution," calling on Ottawa and Victoria to fulfil obligations under the 1852 treaty by cleaning up the bay so shellfish harvesting can resume. The University of Victoria's Environmental Law Centre said in a report attached to David's letter that the closure of shellfish harvesting had deprived families of a critical food source and "failure to redress the pollution" represents "a grievous breach of treaty rights." David's letter calls for the decontamination of Coles Bay to serve as a "pilot project for developing a systemic approach to decontaminating shellfish beaches in British Columbia." The Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship said in a statement the province "has supported Pauquachin's efforts to rehabilitate shellfish harvest in Coles Bay through regularly scheduled meetings and other technical support." It did not respond directly to questions about the construction in Coles Bay. The lack of public information about the work has frustrated Smith, who said he is a 'big supporter of reconciliation' and supports 'anything that we can do to assist, co-operate and partner' with First Nations in almost any sphere. "My frustration is really with the enforcement people or the people that are supposed to be governing this, who provide me with no information at all," he said. Smith said this uncertainty is weighing heavily on him given the environmental stakes. "It's the ocean and we all have to protect the ocean," he said. "That's part of our lives … theirs (the First Nation's), everybody's, and I'm constantly out on the beach, cleaning it, pulling tires out of the water." North Saanich Mayor Peter Jones said on Tuesday that neither he nor the council received any notice about the work, but would have to confirm whether the First Nation contacted the municipality. "I know for myself, I have not been contacted," he said, adding the municipality has a "very, very positive and very open" relationship with the First Nation. Jones said he does not know what the First Nation is doing, but said it has been working for a long time with Victoria, Ottawa and the Capital Regional District on restoring clam beds. "This council is very, very hopeful that the (First Nation) can, in fact, restore the clam beds to a level that would make them very, very useful to them," he said. "Again, I hope they are successful, and with regard to what's happening there right now, council and I have no idea." This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 4, 2025.
