RCMP seeking facts, not social media rumours, as search continues for missing kids

DARTMOUTH – As an investigation into the sudden disappearance of two Nova Scotia children approaches the one year mark, the RCMP are asking people to stop sending them speculation and rumours about the case.

Four-year-old Jack Sullivan and his six-year-old sister Lilly were reported missing on the morning of May 2, 2025. Their mother told police the pair had wandered away from their rural home in Lansdowne Station, N.S., which is surrounded by woodlands clogged with brush and toppled trees.

Five days later, a massive search was scaled back after RCMP Staff Sgt. Rob McCamon said experts had determined there was little chance the two could have survived alone in the woods for that long.

On Thursday, McCamon told a news conference that his investigative team had nothing new to report despite receiving more than 1,100 tips from the public. But he made a point of explaining that many of those tips have been based on “murky” chatter on social media.

“Sometimes social media can get fairly speculative and … not necessarily based in truth or fact,” said McCamon, the officer in charge of the major crime unit in Nova Scotia. “The information we need isn’t speculation or thoughts or theories.”

Every tip that comes in, no matter how outlandish, must be checked by investigators, he said.

“We’re duty-bound to follow all leads to either corroborate or uncorroborate that particular tip. When we get things that are … very speculative, it creates work for us that takes away from better areas that we could focus on.”

Over the past year, the Mounties have maintained they have no evidence of an abduction or any criminal behaviour. 

As well, McCamon confirmed there are parts of the investigation that he can’t talk about in public because doing so could compromise “operational security.”

When asked if the case was at a standstill, the senior Mountie stressed the police force remains “actively engaged” in determining what happened to Jack and Lilly.

“This is a critical question for our community when two young children go missing and we have no answers,” he said, adding that investigators across Canada are feeling the pressure because many have children of their own. 

“We’ve not let up the steam … We’ve definitely made progress on going through the things we need to go through.” 

As for the next steps in the investigation, McCamon said there were no plans for another search. “I can’t really say what exactly the plan is, other than to keep working to find the information we need to … find answers to what happened to Lilly and Jack.”

At the conclusion of the news conference at RCMP headquarters in Dartmouth, N.S., McCamon was asked whether he believes Jack and Lilly are alive or dead.

He repeated the statement he made last May.

“I think the chances that Jack and Lily are alive are very slim.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 30, 2026.