CANADA Canada - Jack, 4 & Lilly Sullivan, 6, Vulnerable, wandered from home 10am, Gairloch Rd, Landsdowne Station, Pictou County, NS, 2 May 2025 #7

Ontario Mom said:

I think I've missed something in this case.

Why exactly is it presumed this portion of the blanket was "planted" when the other part was in the garbage ?

That language presumes someone was attempting to create a narrative by staging evidence. Has this been confirmed by the RCMP or is this just speculation from those following the case?

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The origin of how the piece of blanket got to be where it was found is yet unknown but in a recent CBC report the possibility it was planted is being investigated. But “planting” doesn’t necessarily prove someone was “staging evidence” IMO as the children were not found in that location and the piece of blanket hasn’t incriminated anyone (that we know of).

“Family members on all sides have suggested online and in media interviews that it was planted…

Nova Scotia RCMP have conducted a second round of polygraph examinations in the disappearance of Jack and Lilly Sullivan, with two of those tests focused on one of the only pieces of physical evidence in the case: a light pink blanket found hanging in a tree…..

…..Ferdinand said she was asked four questions during a polygraph examination on Feb 20: “Did you plant the blanket in the tree? Did you place the blanket in the tree? Did you put the blanket in the tree? Did you leave the blanket in the tree?”

Ontario Mom said:

I think I've missed something in this case.

Why exactly is it presumed this portion of the blanket was "planted" when the other part was in the garbage ?

That language presumes someone was attempting to create a narrative by staging evidence. Has this been confirmed by the RCMP or is this just speculation from those following the case?

Click to expand...

Obviously "planted" is speculation. Nothing has been confirmed by the RCMP, frankly. Nothing. What we know about the evidence has been retrieved via freedom of information requests, which have resulted in court documents. The bulk of what we know is via court documents. RCMP have told us jack squat. They have been sitting on everything they know, telling us nothing.

What we do know is that the RCMP is taking the piece of blanket that was found very seriously. They have been asking people about it. Doing polygraphs.

If the blanket was staged, and I'm not sure I believe it was, it only serves to push the narrative that MBMs family hid Lilly & Jack somewhere.

Or perhaps that is what the perp wants us to think.

DM and the bro were likely the first two people on that stretch of road that day.

How the blanket got there is a mystery same as whose DNA might be on it.

Is it safe to say that none of us who are patiently, if excrutiatingly, still clinging to this baffling thread think the children themselves could have climbed into that tree that morning, carrying the blanket remnant with them, playing forts?

I know others have considered the possibility, and I remember the kinds of things I did as little kid growing up on a remote, seldom-traveled rural road. I made my secret adventures creekside, high up in trees, and tented under tall grasses.

I mean, at this point I'm prepared to consider just about anything if only it could lead to Jack and Lilly.

Muddy K said:

Is it safe to say that none of us who are patiently, if excrutiatingly, still clinging to this baffling thread think the children themselves could have climbed into that tree that morning, carrying the blanket remnant with them, playing forts?

I know others have considered the possibility, and I remember the kinds of things I did as little kid growing up on a remote, seldom-traveled rural road. I made my secret adventures creekside, high up in trees, and tented under tall grasses.

I mean, at this point I'm prepared to consider just about anything if only it could lead to Jack and Lilly.

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Photo from: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova...ed-in-disappearance-of-n-s-children-9.7120881

Guesses-

-The CBC said it was found approximately 1 metre (3.37’) off the ground. I thought they may have been making a fort until I saw the photo. The fabric seems too small. But, to a child’s mind, maybe they’d think they could create something with it by doing that, but then gave up?

-a child’s game? Similar to capturing the flag game? It was Lilly’s flag. She found Jack’s(?) Then something happened. (No K9s, trackers, or cadaver dogs found evidence of them close to it, though).

-It looks like someone placed it as a marker of sorts. It’s close to the main road, and visible to a motorist. Others have suggested it was placed by an adult with the children present. As if to say: don’t go far from this. Maybe that’s why it was placed at their approximate eye level.

-another suggestion here was that it was a marker that only has significance to the person who placed it there. A grave marker of sorts, or where they last saw them. They wanted attention to be drawn to that area.

-another poster here said if someone was staging the scene, why not use something more obvious that belongs to the children? Why an odd piece of fabric? I think that’s a great question, and weakens the staging argument, imo. But a few people have said all things pink, including blankets, were meaningful to Lilly. It seems to have been common knowledge. It was accessible, being outside of the home, and not something they needed to remove from Lilly that might make her upset. (Possible abductor known to the family, wanting to make it look like a misadventure by the children.)


MBM said DM was going to stay up and clean that night. She also said the children were energetic as she put them to bed. Then two neighbours have said they heard a vehicle that sounded similar to DM’s drive back and forth between the trailer and along Gairloch. Shake those things together and I can imagine the restless children wanting to be up with DM —and then I don’t know. His car going back and forth might mean he was looking for them. (He denies his car leaving the property that night). The theory falls apart because all three adults said they heard the children in the morning, although DM is the only one that said he saw them.

Sjöberg said:

Because if you would want to stage a kid getting lost in the woods would you place a strip of an old blanket you never even mentioned before in the trees near the road? Or would you put the backpack you said the kids had with them somewhere in the woods?

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I think the blanket was planted, and if it doesn't make sense, maybe the person who planted it there wasn't thinking logically but just did it for their own reason.

Maybe they thought it would make people think the children wandered near that road and that abduction was more likely. Because that would take the heat off the family?

Just my speculation, because if my children were missing in the woods, and part of their blanket was found out there, and there was a chance my children left it there, I think I would go to the location and search heavily in that area for days on end.

Did their family react that way to the blanket find? Were they asked by authorities not to search the area? If it were me, I believe I would keep returning there, trying to find out what happened to my children, where at least a possible clue had been found.

I also find it highly interesting that family found the blanket before LE. But just my opinions.

Outside the courthouse, Martell declined requests for comment from reporters.

The assault case is separate from the investigation into the missing children and the Crown warned the public that the identity of the complainant is protected by a publication ban.

Gorman said violating the ban could lead to a police investigation or charges.

Martell is in the process of retaining a lawyer. His next court appearance is scheduled for March 30.
Stepfather of missing Nova Scotia children appears in court on sexual assault charges | Globalnews.ca

1st BBM there's a first MOO
2nd BBM noted.
------------------
Among those in court for Martell’s appearance was a woman who said she knows Jack and Lilly and the family. The woman, whom The Chronicle Herald is not identifying, said she still has hope the children will be found alive.

“It’s been hard, very hard,” she said.

“Always thinking of the kids, where they’re at. Did somebody take them? We just want them home. I still feel they are living somewhere, just where? We’re just praying this all gets resolved soon, those responsible get held responsible and the babies come back home.”
Stepfather of missing Nova Scotia siblings Jack and Lilly Sullivan appears in court on sexual assault, other charges

Nova Scotia RCMP have conducted a second round of polygraph examinations in the disappearance of Jack and Lilly Sullivan, with two of those tests focused on one of the only pieces of physical evidence in the case: a light pink blanket found hanging in a tree.
[snip]
Family members on all sides have suggested online and in media interviews that it was planted.

Haley Ferdinand, Brooks-Murray’s stepsister, was one of the people who came upon the piece of tattered blanket off Lansdowne Station Road, a kilometre from the children’s home, as they scoured for Jack and Lilly alongside dozens of search and rescue members.

“We went down one side of the road and came back up the other,” said Ferdinand, adding that Brooks-Murray’s half-brother, Haiden Murray-Smith, was with her at the time.

“We came back up the other side and all of a sudden there was this pink thing in the tree.”
[snip]
The Mounties also confirmed the blanket — one of two pieces of physical evidence in the case that the public is aware of — is still at the RCMP lab for forensic examination.

The second piece is a boot print consistent with Lilly’s foot size found on the pipeline trail near the family home.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova...ed-in-disappearance-of-n-s-children-9.7120881

MBM confirms in the article that she was also given another polygraph but she declined to discuss what questions were asked of her during it.

Traymar said:

Apologies if this was mentioned and I missed it, but was the blanket piece confirmed to have been torn, cut, or just worn to the point of falling apart? It doesn't look that worn, so one of the first two? Has it been said? MOO

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Allegedly, MBM used the pink blanket to block cold air coming through a trailer door. And Martell apparently tore a long strip off of the blanket before it was placed near the door to block the cold air.
Later, when the weather warmed up, MBM threw the blanket in a trash bin, where it was eventually found.

katydid23 said:

Allegedly, MBM used the pink blanket to block cold air coming through a trailer door. And Martell apparently tore a long strip off of the blanket before it was placed near the door to block the cold air.
Later, when the weather warmed up, MBM threw the blanket in a trash bin, where it was eventually found.

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Thank you! I somehow missed the "tore a long strip" part of the story.

Lexiintoronto said:

View attachment 653225
Photo from: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova...ed-in-disappearance-of-n-s-children-9.7120881

Guesses-

-The CBC said it was found approximately 1 metre (3.37’) off the ground. I thought they may have been making a fort until I saw the photo. The fabric seems too small. But, to a child’s mind, maybe they’d think they could create something with it by doing that, but then gave up?

-a child’s game? Similar to capturing the flag game? It was Lilly’s flag. She found Jack’s(?) Then something happened. (No K9s, trackers, or cadaver dogs found evidence of them close to it, though).

-It looks like someone placed it as a marker of sorts. It’s close to the main road, and visible to a motorist. Others have suggested it was placed by an adult with the children present. As if to say: don’t go far from this. Maybe that’s why it was placed at their approximate eye level.

-another suggestion here was that it was a marker that only has significance to the person who placed it there. A grave marker of sorts, or where they last saw them. They wanted attention to be drawn to that area.

-another poster here said if someone was staging the scene, why not use something more obvious that belongs to the children?

Click to expand...

Yes, that's a good point. Why not choose a better way to stage the scene?

But if it is true that DM was using meth, then that answers the question right there. Meth plus stressful situation creates manic responses. People don't think right when they are speeding in their heads...they do impulsive stupid things. Make bad decisions then double down.

Lexiintoronto said:

Why an odd piece of fabric? I think that’s a great question, and weakens the staging argument, imo. But a few people have said all things pink, including blankets, were meaningful to Lilly. It seems to have been common knowledge. It was accessible, being outside of the home, and not something they needed to remove from Lilly that might make her upset. (Possible abductor known to the family, wanting to make it look like a misadventure by the children.)


MBM said DM was going to stay up and clean that night.

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That sounds like something someone high on meth would say...

Lexiintoronto said:

She also said the children were energetic as she put them to bed. Then two neighbours have said they heard a vehicle that sounded similar to DM’s drive back and forth between the trailer and along Gairloch. Shake those things together and I can imagine the restless children wanting to be up with DM —and then I don’t know. His car going back and forth might mean he was looking for them.

Click to expand...

I think it's possible they were out with him.

Lexiintoronto said:

(He denies his car leaving the property that night). The theory falls apart because all three adults said they heard the children in the morning, although DM is the only one that said he saw them.

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I think the 2 women in his life would say whatever he asked them to say, in this dire situation.

After initial police work is done onsite, speculation and hypothesizing is what investigators *do* and then look for the the evidence trail that might have been missed in the initial evidence gathering. I can't imagine not taking every possibility into account. Thats how lapses and shoddy work happens.

Web Sleuths is excellent for having open intelligent minds weigh all possibilities. Others like to wait for the RCMP to issue statements *after* cases have been solved. There aren't many of that kind of mind here at WS. I'm often asked by friends and family *not* on WS what the current underground buzz is here about different cases. WS almost always is waaay ahead of the main stream media news. Cheers to that and to the people who bring it!

katydid23 said:

Allegedly, MBM used the pink blanket to block cold air coming through a trailer door. And Martell apparently tore a long strip off of the blanket before it was placed near the door to block the cold air.
Later, when the weather warmed up, MBM threw the blanket in a trash bin, where it was eventually found.

Click to expand...

So I suppose it begs the question is the torn strip the piece that was found in the tree or is it the piece that was used as a draft excluder ?

What we do know
DM and MBM stated it was used as a draft excluder.
DM stated it was thrown in the trash as weather had improved ( from memory) was a date given for when the blanket was torn and /or when the blanket was discarded?

what we dont know
how long was it being used as a draft excluder and was the seperated torn strip kept or thrown out in the trash first and weeks or days later draft piece was also thrown in the same trash bag or separately in another

Pure speculation and imo

The blanket in the tree looks " clean " not grubby as one would expect it to be if it was used over a period of time as a draft excluder nor does it look grubby enough to have been in a bag of trash over any extended period ,nor does it look like it could have been there long as it doesn't seem weather beaten jmo

MBM'S description of a long strip being torn from the blanket in my opinion gives the optic of the strip in the image we are discussing jmo

So I can understand why someone would feel like it had been planted or deliberately placed there in a time period of within 24 hours as we know the weather was not favourable so therefore can we assume it would be at the very least be covered in leaf debris or soaked if it was outside for a longer time frame ?

If I could ask a question of the investigators , I would like to know , Was the blanket dry when found ? I could be wrong but wasn't the weather wet and misty during the last week of April and the 1st and 2nd of May 2025 ?

Edited for spelling

Another type of map of the search area, fwiw.

I think they went on access roads. In Nova Scotia, generally from mid-March to late May, logging activity is restricted on certain roads due to weight restrictions. The roads are usually saturated with water and considered weaker. It was reported that DM’s work schedule in May, 2025, at the wood mill was cut down to one day a week because of that.

Current road restrictions:


The roads NOT highlighted in green are the roads subject to the current ban. (All within the search area).

I’d expect the map to be similar to 2025’s map. So, no logging trucks or activity on smaller local roads and access roads at the time of their disappearance, and the roads would be less travelled at that time, imo. (Less chance of the children being noticed).

I found the map to be good because it charts the access roads in the area, and we know that the piece of blanket was found in a tree on one of them.

Today marks Lilly's 7th birthday, and we ask that you keep Lilly and Jack in your thoughts on this special day. Lilly, wherever you and Jack are, please be assured that we will persevere in our efforts to find you and bring you home. Your memory and that of your brother will be forever cherished. Goodnight and happy birthday ❤

Amy0077 said:

Today marks Lilly's 7th birthday, and we ask that you keep Lilly and Jack in your thoughts on this special day. Lilly, wherever you and Jack are, please be assured that we will persevere in our efforts to find you and bring you home. Your memory and that of your brother will be forever cherished. Goodnight and happy birthday ❤

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She is so beautiful, she and her brother are in my heart every day

Happy birthday lilly

Hey guys, just seen this thread. Wondering if anyone can give me a rundown of some things. 1 people's opinions on here of what's happened, 2 strongest bits of evidence pointing towards whatever direction, 3 LE opinions although I know they haven't ruled out anything. Thankyou

Eta. Just a quick note not sure if its been mentioned. How does the neighbour on the same property hear them playing outside but the parents dont? suggests at least some time they were in the back garden before and if they did indeed go into the woods.

Poor kids that's tragic.

Weird. Just Google satellited the area, has anyone done that? There seems to be a river directly behind the houses that run on that road. That narrows the potential search area quite dramatically however it also adds to potential hazards. From what I've read its likely a shallow river and narrows allot at the concord bridge. There is also a road that runs into it suggesting vehicles can pass through it again suggesting its shallow. Google Maps. The river is named middle river of pictou.

I assume the river has been searched ?

Sweeper2000 said:

Hey guys, just seen this thread. Wondering if anyone can give me a rundown of some things. 1 people's opinions on here of what's happened, 2 strongest bits of evidence pointing towards whatever direction, 3 LE opinions although I know they haven't ruled out anything. Thankyou

Eta. Just a quick note not sure if its been mentioned. How does the neighbour on the same property hear them playing outside but the parents dont? suggests at least some time they were in the back garden before and if they did indeed go into the woods.

Poor kids that's tragic.

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@Sweeper2000 welcome to the thread/vigil for these two darling children, Jack and Lilly, still missing after way too long. Way too long. We're coming up on a year and, in my opinion, they can't be alive and probably haven't been since a day or two after they disappeared.

1. Can't speak for opinions other than my own, but I'm not able to be persuaded of anything - yet - other than that Jack and Lilly wandered too far while playing, maybe took shelter in some low, dark undergrowth after becoming lost, and then perished in the elements. IMO, one day the forest will give them up.

2. For me, some aspects of the conduct of both adults in the household, including their birth mother and their stepfather, are questionable, but no more than that. I can't be persuaded - yet - that one or the other or both of them intentionally or accidentally caused Jack and LIlly to vanish. Bluntly, I don't perceive either of them as being smart enough to pull off what would basically look, at this point, to be a perfect crime given the children have not been found.

3. Canadian LE define what it means to be "tight lipped," IMO. I feel like they believe they will solve the case, but if they have any suspects, I don't know who they are.

The neighbor on the same property is Daniel Martell's mother. She was living in a small RV in the back corner of the lot. Your question about her hearing Jack and Lilly playing, but their mom and stepdad not also hearing them is a good one, and I don't know the answer.

I'm staying with this case until it ends, but I still can't believe we're basically no closer to knowing anything of material, evidentiary impact now than we knew on day one. It's really hard for me to accept that two children just vanish and life goes on. I think about Jack and LIlly all the time.

Muddy K said:

@Sweeper2000 welcome to the thread/vigil for these two darling children, Jack and Lilly, still missing after way too long. Way too long. We're coming up on a year and, in my opinion, they can't be alive and probably haven't been since a day or two after they disappeared.

1. Can't speak for opinions other than my own, but I'm not able to be persuaded of anything - yet - other than that Jack and Lilly wandered too far while playing, maybe took shelter in some low, dark undergrowth after becoming lost, and then perished in the elements. IMO, one day the forest will give them up.

2. For me, some aspects of the conduct of both adults in the household, including their birth mother and their stepfather, are questionable, but no more than that. I can't be persuaded - yet - that one or the other or both of them intentionally or accidentally caused Jack and LIlly to vanish. Bluntly, I don't perceive either of them as being smart enough to pull off what would basically look, at this point, to be a perfect crime given the children have not been found.

3. Canadian LE define what it means to be "tight lipped," IMO. I feel like they believe they will solve the case, but if they have any suspects, I don't know who they are.

The neighbor on the same property is Daniel Martell's mother. She was living in a small RV in the back corner of the lot. Your question about her hearing Jack and Lilly playing, but their mom and stepdad not also hearing them is a good one, and I don't know the answer.

I'm staying with this case until it ends, but I still can't believe we're basically no closer to knowing anything of material, evidentiary impact now than we knew on day one. It's really hard for me to accept that two children just vanish and life goes on. I think about Jack and LIlly all the time.

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Brilliant post , @Muddy K

It sums up the reality of case which is as you state we are no further enlightened then we were a couple of days or weeks after about what happened the kids that day

Everything is speculation and guess work with plenty of imo's thrown in

What we know for sure is that the rcmp and major crimes have thrown the book at the case in terms of giving it every resource and leaving no stone unturned.

My hope is if the children are in the forest that nature will be kind and give them back to their family for closure on a tragic case and if there is a criminal element that justice will be served

I personally can't decide if this is an innocent wandering or something more sinister, I do know a few things bother me

MBM leaving the area on day 2 and never returning to search

Prior cps involvement no matter how trivial

Lilly having a black eye on the day prior to her disappearance and jack having been observed with at least one

DM being charged with DV and his admittance of drug abuse no matter how infrequent

The blanket and its importance or not

And a big one for me is no one on that property that day really showing an emotional response one might expect to see when not one but two children disappear and terms such as I miss them not really a feature verbally from any of the adults jmo

I watched and read every word of this case from day one along with other attentional unwavering posters . We know every post on here and elsewhere, every msm release and every SM rumour but it has gotten us no further in a firm hypothesis.

I'm praying the upcoming 1 year anniversary brings a breakthrough whether that be someone coming forward or nature revealing there remains during a search

Post is written from memory recall but if anyone wants a link to anything in it I will try provide and if I can't possibly an obliging kind fellow poster will