Missing N.S. kids: Reward of up to $150,000 being offered to anyone with information
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A reward of up to $150,000 is being offered by the Nova Scotia Department of Justice to anyone with information about the disappearance of Lilly and Jack Sullivan.
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It has been '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 one,' said Attorney General and Minister of Justice Becky Druhan in a news release on Thursday.
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The reward is payable in Canadian funds and will be apportioned as deemed just by Druhan as the minister of justice. Law enforcement and correctional agency employees are not eligible for the reward.
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On the morning of May 2, Lilly and Jack disappeared from their Lansdowne Station home in rural Nova Scotia. There have been extensive ongoing searches in the area, especially in the thick woods near the property where they lived. As of mid-June, police said they had received 488 tips in the case. According to authorities, the siblings were last seen with family in public on May 1.
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In an interview published on Wednesday, the children's paternal grandmother opened up about what happened.
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Belynda Gray, who spoke to CBC News, said she hasn't seen six-year-old Lilly or four-year-old Jack in almost two years.
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Gray's son, Cody Sullivan, is the biological father of the two children. He was in a relationship with the children's mother, Malehya Brooks-Murray, for about three years, Gray said. When Brooks-Murray decided to end the relationship, she petitioned the court for sole custody, Gray told CBC.
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'When she did that, he said that he was done. He just didn't want no part of it,' said Gray, who also said that Brooks-Murray told her they were 'having problems and she wasn't happy.'
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The relationship between Gray and Brooks-Murray, however, remained intact. Gray said that Brooks-Murray would bring the children to visit whenever Gray asked. But those visits faded when Brooks-Murray moved in with her new boyfriend, the children's stepfather, Daniel Martell. Martell and Brooks-Murray also have an infant daughter together.
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'I was in a state of panic, shock, but in the back of my mind I kept saying, 'Well, they'll find them,'' said Gray.
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She joined the search in Pictou County. She said she called out for the children, even using her nickname for Jack, 'Jackie boy.' However, after several days, police announced they were scaling back the search and would focus on specific areas.
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