Latest news with #DanielMartell
CBC
4 days ago
- General
- CBC
4 weeks after disappearance of N.S. children, stepfather remains hopeful
Four weeks after two children vanished without a trace in rural Nova Scotia, the children's stepfather is still holding on to hope. Lilly Sullivan, 6, and her brother Jack Sullivan, 4, have been missing since May 2, when police received a 911 call from their mother and stepfather reporting they had wandered away from their home in Lansdowne Station, a sparsely populated area about 140 kilometres northeast of Halifax. The disappearance sparked an extensive six-day search through 5.5 square kilometres of mostly dense woods and included upward of 160 search and rescue officials, dogs, helicopters and drones. The effort was scaled back on May 7, but subsequent searches have taken place, including ground searches around the children's home on Gairloch Road and underwater searches of bodies of water in the region. The RCMP's major crime unit has been involved since the day after the children were reported missing. Daniel Martell, the children's stepfather, said the disappearance has taken a toll on him and his family. "Every day when I wake up, it feels like I'm reliving a nightmare," said Martell in an interview Friday in Lansdowne Station, nearly one month after the children went missing. "The main feelings of sadness just turn to anger because there's no evidence after one month." Still, Martell said he has not lost hope. "That's all we have at this point," he said. "That's the only goal I have ... is to bring Jack and Lilly home." Martell had asked RCMP for a polygraph test earlier in the investigation. He told CBC News he passed that test, so "you really can't point fingers at me anymore." RCMP previously declined to say whether a polygraph would be administered. Martell also addressed rumours there was a party at the home before the children went missing. "There was no drug party the day before the disappearance," he said. "That's absolute nonsense." Robert Parker, warden for the Municipality of the County of Pictou, said there is a feeling of disappointment and sadness in the community. "We haven't even found one iota it appears of what happened to little Lilly and little Jack," said Parker in an interview Friday. "It's hard to believe that many people look for that long, including search parties from all over this province, and the RCMP have been involved since Day 1, lots of other looking and trying ... but not one iota that I've heard of anyway as to a hint as to where the two little ones went." Parker said residents are feeling anxious and frustrated by the many questions left unanswered four weeks later. "I know older people in their 90s, they've told me they can't sleep at night," he said. "Those little ones, and all the little ones, belong to all of us. We all feel like they're part of our family. They're part of the Pictou County family. They're part of the Nova Scotia family. We need to find answers." Members of the community have been showing their support for Lilly and Jack by placing flowers and stuffed animals on a post outside of the RCMP detachment in Stellarton. Earlier this week, RCMP confirmed the siblings were seen in public with family members on the afternoon of May 1 — one day before the disappearance — based on the details police have gathered. Martell said police have retrieved surveillance camera footage in New Glasgow that shows himself; the children's mother, Malehya Brooks-Murray; the couple's one-year-old baby, Meadow; and Lilly and Jack. He said he couldn't say where the footage came from because it might be important to the investigation. WATCH | RCMP investigators are combing through camera footage: 3 weeks after N.S. kids vanished, RCMP scour footage for clues 7 days ago Duration 1:58 Police were also asking anyone who has dashcam footage or video along Gairloch Road between 12 p.m. AT on April 28 and 12 p.m. AT on May 2 to contact them. Last week, a resident who lives near where the children went missing said police had collected hours of footage from the seven trail cameras scattered around her 16-hectare property. RCMP said they have received more than 355 tips and have formally interviewed more than 50 people, with more interviews planned. The Mounties have said all missing persons cases "are treated as suspicious until our investigation leads us to determine otherwise." Family of the children's mother have said they were advised by police not to speak to media.
CBC
4 days ago
- General
- CBC
1 month after disappearance of N.S. children, stepfather remains hopeful
One month after two children vanished without a trace in rural Nova Scotia, the children's stepfather is still holding on to hope. Lilly Sullivan, 6, and her brother Jack Sullivan, 4, have been missing since May 2, when police received a 911 call from their mother and stepfather reporting they had wandered away from their home in Lansdowne Station, a sparsely populated area about 140 kilometres northeast of Halifax. The disappearance sparked an extensive six-day search through 5.5 square kilometres of mostly dense woods and included upward of 160 search and rescue officials, dogs, helicopters and drones. The effort was scaled back on May 7, but subsequent searches have taken place, including ground searches around the children's home on Gairloch Road and underwater searches of bodies of water in the region. The RCMP's major crime unit has been involved since the day after the children were reported missing. Daniel Martell, the children's stepfather, said the disappearance has taken a toll on him and his family. "Every day when I wake up, it feels like I'm reliving a nightmare," said Martell in an interview Friday in Lansdowne Station, exactly one month after the children went missing. "The main feelings of sadness just turn to anger because there's no evidence after one month." Still, Martell said he has not lost hope. "That's all we have at this point," he said. "That's the only goal I have ... is to bring Jack and Lilly home." Martell had asked RCMP for a polygraph test earlier in the investigation. He told CBC News he passed that test, so "you really can't point fingers at me anymore." RCMP previously declined to say whether a polygraph would be administered. Martell also addressed rumours there was a party at the home before the children went missing. "There was no drug party the day before the disappearance," he said. "That's absolute nonsense." Robert Parker, warden for the Municipality of the County of Pictou, said there is a feeling of disappointment and sadness in the community. "We haven't even found one iota it appears of what happened to little Lilly and little Jack," said Parker in an interview Friday. "It's hard to believe that many people look for that long, including search parties from all over this province, and the RCMP have been involved since Day 1, lots of other looking and trying ... but not one iota that I've heard of anyway as to a hint as to where the two little ones went." Parker said residents are feeling anxious and frustrated by the many questions left unanswered four weeks later. "I know older people in their 90s, they've told me they can't sleep at night," he said. "Those little ones, and all the little ones, belong to all of us. We all feel like they're part of our family. They're part of the Pictou County family. They're part of the Nova Scotia family. We need to find answers." Members of the community have been showing their support for Lilly and Jack by placing flowers and stuffed animals on a post outside of the RCMP detachment in Stellarton. Earlier this week, RCMP confirmed the siblings were seen in public with family members on the afternoon of May 1 — one day before the disappearance — based on the details police have gathered. Martell said camera footage from somewhere in New Glasgow shows himself; the children's mother, Malehya Brooks-Murray; their one-year-old baby, Meadow; and Lilly and Jack, but he would not disclose the location. WATCH | RCMP investigators are combing through camera footage: 3 weeks after N.S. kids vanished, RCMP scour footage for clues 7 days ago Duration 1:58 Police were also asking anyone who has dashcam footage or video along Gairloch Road between 12 p.m. AT on April 28 and 12 p.m. AT on May 2 to contact them. Last week, a resident who lives near where the children went missing said police had collected hours of footage from the seven trail cameras scattered around her 16-hectare property. RCMP said they have received more than 355 tips and have formally interviewed more than 50 people, with more interviews planned. The Mounties have said all missing persons cases "are treated as suspicious until our investigation leads us to determine otherwise." Family of the children's mother have said they were advised by police not to speak to media.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Missing N.S. children were seen in public day before disappearance: police
RCMP have confirmed two children who went missing in Nova Scotia's Pictou County nearly a month ago were seen in public the day before their disappearance. Lilly Sullivan, 6, and her brother Jack Sullivan, 4, have been missing since May 2, when police received a 911 call from their mother and stepfather. Police say they were told the children wandered away from their home in Lansdowne Station, a sparsely populated area about 140 kilometres northeast of Halifax. The disappearance sparked an extensive six-day search through 5.5 square kilometres of mostly dense woods and included upward of 160 search and rescue officials, dogs, helicopters and drones. The search was scaled back on May 7, but underwater recovery teams scoured bodies of water in the Lansdowne Station area on May 8 and 9. Search and rescue crews were then called back to the community on May 17 and 18, focusing on specific areas around the children's home on Gairloch Road. In a news release Wednesday, RCMP said they have collected hours of video from the areas surrounding Lansdowne Station. Investigators have confirmed Lilly and Jack were seen in public with family members on the afternoon of May 1, based on the details police have gathered. The children's stepfather, Daniel Martell, has said the children were home from school on May 1 and 2 due to illness. They were also home on April 30 for a planned professional development day at the school. WATCH | The release said police are asking anyone who has dashcam footage or video along Gairloch Road between 12 p.m. AT on April 28 and 12 p.m. AT on May 2 to contact them. Last week, a resident who lives near where the children went missing said police had collected hours of footage from the seven trail camera scattered around her 16-hectare property. The Mounties said they have received more than 355 tips and have formally interviewed more than 50 people, with more interviews planned in the coming days. "We understand people's desire for answers and updates. However, as this is an active investigation, we're unable to discuss details of our ongoing work," said Cpl. Sandy Matharu of the Northeast Nova RCMP Major Crime Unit. MORE TOP STORIES
CBC
6 days ago
- General
- CBC
Missing N.S. children were seen in public day before disappearance: police
RCMP have confirmed two children who went missing in Nova Scotia's Pictou County nearly a month ago were seen in public the day before their disappearance. Lilly Sullivan, 6, and her brother Jack Sullivan, 4, have been missing since May 2, when police received a 911 call from their mother and stepfather. Police say they were told the children wandered away from their home in Lansdowne Station, a sparsely populated area about 140 kilometres northeast of Halifax. The disappearance sparked an extensive six-day search through 5.5 square kilometres of mostly dense woods. In a news release today, RCMP said they have collected hours of video from the areas surrounding Lansdowne Station. Investigators have confirmed Lilly and Jack were seen in public with family members on the afternoon of May 1, based on the details police have gathered. The children's stepfather, Daniel Martell, has said the children were home from school on May 1 and 2 due to illness. They were also home on April 30 for a planned professional development day at the school. The release said police are asking anyone who has dashcam footage or video along Gairloch Road between 12 p.m. on April 28 and 12 p.m. on May 2 to contact them. The Mounties said they have received more than 355 tips and have formally interviewed more than 50 people, with more interviews planned in the coming days. "We understand people's desire for answers and updates. However, as this is an active investigation, we're unable to discuss details of our ongoing work," said Cpl. Sandy Matharu of the Northeast Nova RCMP Major Crime Unit.
CBC
17-05-2025
- CBC
Stepdad of missing N.S. kids says he hopes 'something positive' will come from renewed search
The stepdad of two missing kids in rural Pictou County, N.S., says he hopes the ground search and rescue operation that resumed Saturday will bring Lilly and Jack Sullivan back home. "I'm really hopeful that they find something," said Daniel Martell. "I'm grateful for each and everyone of them that take the time out here to go through black flies and go through … these forests are absolutely so dense." The siblings went missing from their home in Lansdowne Station on May 2. On May 7, after an extensive effort to find the kids, RCMP announced they would be scaling back the search. Ground search crews departed the community a day after the RCMP announcement. More than 100 people from five different search and rescue teams were at work on Saturday. "I'm just hoping for something positive, a positive outcome that's bringing the kids home," Martell said. "That's the main goal here. It's the main goal. It's just to find the truth." Martell said rampant online speculation has been difficult for his family to deal with for the past two weeks. "It's hard on everyone. It's hard on me, it's hard on Malehya [the children's mother], it's hard on the families," he said. "I mean, it's been hard on the search and rescue guys cause they don't want to feel like they're failing us for not finding anything." Since the kids went missing, Martell has said he asked police to give him a polygraph test to clear up speculation. Stepfather of missing N.S. children says he'll do a polygraph test 9 days ago Duration 0:32 Daniel Martell, stepfather of Lilly and Jack Sullivan, said he has asked police to give him a polygraph test. He says he's been told it will happen in the next few days. Despite this, Martell said his family and community have been a constant source of support and hope. Amy Hansen, one of the search managers, said the search resumed this weekend so the teams could "come back in with fresh people and cover more areas because we haven't resolved the situation yet." "We just want to find these children and bring them home," said Hansen. The searchers will be expanding into areas that haven't been searched. They will also be looking more deeply into areas already covered, including where children tend to go when missing in wooded areas. Multiple drones in the air from different agencies are being used to help with the search. Hansen said previous search efforts were suspended because of exhaustion, stress and injuries consisting of bad falls, sprained ankles and twisted knees. But they are now prepared to search for the weekend. "Everybody's rested, refreshed, ready to go," said Hansen. "They're still going to push themselves to the point where they can't anymore, but they're troopers."
