Searcher says no sign of missing N.S. children as renewed search enters second day
Amy Hansen, Search Manager speaks to reporters about the search for six-year-old Lilly Sullivan and four-year-old Jack Sullivan, two children missing since May 2, in Lansdowne Station, N.S., Wednesday, May 7, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ron Ward
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.
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