N.S. missing kids: Province calls Jack and Lilly case ‘a crime', offers 150K reward
Lilly Sullivan, 6 and her brother Jack Sullivan, 4, were reported missing May 2 from their home in Lansdowne Station in Pictou County.
Their disappearance has been added to the province's Major Unsolved Crimes Program, which the province says is a 'tool to help police in major unsolved crime cases.'
In a brief call, the children's maternal grandmother told Global News the family's focus is on finding Lilly and Jack and that they hope the reward helps in the case.
Get breaking National news
For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up
By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy
'The disappearance of Jack and Lilly Sullivan is felt across the province and beyond, and my heart goes out to the family, the community and everyone who has been working to find these children since Day 1,' said Becky Druhan, Attorney General and Minister of Justice, in a Thursday release.
Story continues below advertisement
'Police and investigators are working tirelessly to find answers, and I urge anyone with information to please share this with the RCMP as soon as possible.'
The actual amount rewarded under this program will be based on the 'investigative value' of the information.
'Anyone with information regarding this crime should call the Rewards for Major Unsolved Crimes Program at 1-888-710-9090,' the province said in the release.
'People who come forward with information must provide their name and contact information and may be called to testify in court. All calls will be recorded.'
Information can also be shared anonymously through Crime Stoppers of Nova Scotia at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CBC
a minute ago
- CBC
Watchdog suggests review of how RCMP interact with Indigenous people, mental health calls
Social Sharing B.C.'s police watchdog is recommending changes to how police interact with Indigenous people and communities, as well as people experiencing a mental health crisis, in the wake of an investigation into RCMP actions during an incident three years ago that left a Williams Lake, B.C., man dead. B.C.'s Independent Investigations Office (IIO) released a report last week detailing the events of July 10, 2022. The report states that just after 3:42 a.m. PT, a family member called police to report that a man was suicidal at their home in Williams Lake. Another family member said the man was intoxicated and had a loaded firearm. According to the report, police, including crisis negotiators, tried to speak with the man several times, but were not successful. Tear gas was used in an attempt to get the man out of the house, items were thrown at windows to break them, and a drone was sent into the home to locate the man. Tactical officers entered the home around noon and found the man dead. An autopsy confirmed he died by suicide. While the investigation found no criminal wrongdoing on the part of police, the IIO said the incident raises questions about the relationship between police and Indigenous peoples. "While the IIO's mandate does not include examining systemic issues in policing, it is important to acknowledge that Indigenous communities in Canada have long faced systemic discrimination by police," the report reads. It said that discrimination becomes clear when you consider disproportionate rates of arrest and incarceration that Indigenous people face. Williams Lake First Nation (WLFN) Chief Willie Sellars confirmed the man who died that day in 2022 was a member of the WLFN. "He was a good friend, he was a family man, and we felt that [if the situation had] been handled differently, he would still be here today." While police were cleared of criminal wrongdoing, he said he wants to see police held accountable for their actions. "At the end of the day, you know, the safety of our community is of utmost importance. Having a working relationship with the RCMP is a part of that, and we understand that, too. But that relationship has to result in change in the way they carry about within the territory, and we have to hold them accountable at the same time." Mental health calls The report also said the incident raises questions about how police handle interactions with people experiencing a mental health crisis. Jessica Berglund, the chief civilian director of the Independent Investigations Office of B.C., said there have been a number of studies showing that "military-style" responses to individuals in mental health crisis may not be the best option. A 2010 report from the Mental Health Commission of Canada recommended police "use-of-force training" be reviewed by police academies and agencies to ensure plenty of time is made to learn how to resolve situations without the use of force, and that training keys in on symptoms of mental illness, verbal communications, interpersonal skills and de-escalation techniques. "In this case, we don't know if those techniques used by the RCMP did contribute to the man taking his own life, but there's been so much input from Indigenous communities and the mental health profession saying that this is not the right way to try to de-escalate a situation where we are really trying to save that person's life," Berglund said during an interview on CBC's Daybreak Kamloops. The report said family members asked why they weren't involved in negotiations. Crisis negotiators and other officers said friends and family are not typically included in attempts to speak with people in crisis to avoid the possibility of triggering the person. "If you don't know if that person's a trigger, and you don't now what their motives are … and you interject with somebody who quite possibly could be the problem .. that's extremely dangerous," an unnamed crisis negotiator said in the report. Berglund said the police did everything according to their training and policy in this case. But she said she's forwarding recommendations to the Civilian Review and Complaints Commission (CRCC) for the RCMP to see if current protocols really are the best way to handle these situations. The CRCC confirmed it had received the report and is reviewing it. Sellars said he hopes the IIO's report will ultimately bring about change. "There's definitely more work to be done," he said. "Progress is happening, but it's not happening quickly enough. It's stuff like this that sets back that progress."
CBC
an hour ago
- CBC
Inquest begins into 2022 fatal police shooting of La Loche, Sask., man in Saskatoon
Saskatoon police knew all about Ronnie Glen Herman when they began chasing him through yards in the city's Mayfair neighbourhood late on a Thursday afternoon in October 2022. Nine months earlier, police shot the 36-year-old from La Loche, Sask., in the arm, when he rushed police outside a house on Avenue L South in Saskatoon armed with a machete and replica handgun. Two years earlier, in 2021, Herman was the subject of an RCMP alert in La Loche, just over 500 kilometres northwest of Saskatoon, wanted for assault, assault with a weapon, forcible confinement and failure to comply with probation. And, in 2009, when he was 22, Herman pleaded guilty to manslaughter for his role in the beating death of a teen in a parking lot in La Loche. On Monday, a coroner's inquest at Court of King's Bench will begin deconstructing the sequence of events that led to Herman's fatal shooting by Saskatoon police. "The guns and gangs unit became aware that a 36-year-old male, who was wanted by La Loche RCMP, was in the 1300 block of Avenue E North and was armed with a gun," police Chief Troy Cooper wrote in a statement the following day. "The male was in breach of release conditions and had removed his electronic monitoring device." People living in the houses near where Herman died say dozens of plainclothes and uniformed police with guns drawn converged on a two-storey house across from the Mayfair elementary school around 5:45 p.m. on Oct. 27, 2022. Witnesses say police ran through yards and jumped fences and decks, squaring off with Herman both inside and outside the corner house. The neighbours heard shouting and the sound of multiple gunshots. Police said in a news release that they confronted a suspect in the home before police fatally shot him. No police or bystanders were hurt. The established neighbourhood was busy at the time of the shooting — parent-teacher interviews had just started at the school and kids were out in the playground. The inquest will feature 18 witnesses, including a paramedic, a registered nurse, a pathologist, two civilians and 14 police. Timothy Hawryluk will be the presiding coroner.
Global News
10 hours ago
- Global News
Memorial held for slain Kelowna mother Bailey McCourt
Family and friends of Bailey McCourt gathered Saturday night to remember the Kelowna mother of two, weeks after she was killed in a daylight attack in a parking lot. The memorial was held at the Mission Sports Field, with attendees sharing memories, and tying posters as well as pictures of the 32-year-old to baseball diamond fences. McCourt's mother, Karen Fehr, says the place held great significance to her and her daughter. 'She grew up on the fields first on the coast and then we lived here. She started playing ball at High Noon Ball Park for the kids,' Fehr told Global News. 'Whenever she didn't play, then I played the other nights. Everyone here knows her.' 'Finding out the Bats for a Cause tournament was going on this weekend, which is a really important tournament to all the ball players here, raising money for the children's hospital, it was a no brainer.' Story continues below advertisement McCourt was brutally attacked back on July 4 in a parking lot, later succumbing to her injuries in hospital. 2:16 Friend of Bailey McCourt hoping violent attack prompts change in B.C. Her estranged husband, James Plover, was arrested after the attack and now faces a charge of second-degree murder in the case. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy It is alleged Plover attacked McCourt with a hammer, just a short time after being convicted of domestic violence charges in Kelowna courtroom. The identities of the victims in the earlier case are protected by a publication ban. Family members including Fehr have expressed anger and sadness over McCourt's death. They are demanding judicial change, as Plover was granted bail after the convictions. 'If this could be the one to give us a reason to actually change [laws], I might be able to find a little bit more peace in what happened,' said Fehr. 'Women have been waiting and waiting for the change we need when it comes to violence against us.' Story continues below advertisement Plover remains in custody and is due back in court on Sept. 16.
