Court documents reveal that two individuals residing near the home of Lilly and Jack Sullivan reported hearing a vehicle moving around in the middle of the night prior to the children being reported missing in Nova Scotia. However, after a comprehensive review of surveillance footage in the Gairloch Road area of Pictou County, the RCMP confirmed on Monday that no evidence of any vehicle activity was found during that time.
RCMP communications adviser Allison Gerrard stated in an email to CBC that no driver has been identified, and the presence of a vehicle has not been established as a significant factor in the investigation, as the witnesses only heard the vehicle but did not visually confirm it.
These new details from witnesses are outlined in redacted records released in August and subsequently unveiled last Friday after media outlets pushed for the disclosure of previously withheld information.
The court documents include requests by investigators to search for phone records, banking records, and relevant video materials related to the case, along with unproven statements provided by law enforcement.
The siblings, Lilly aged 6 and Jack aged 4, were reported missing on May 2 after their mother Malehya Brooks-Murray contacted the police, informing them that the children had wandered off from their residence in Lansdowne Station, located approximately 140 kilometers northeast of Halifax.
The children resided with their mother, stepfather Daniel Martell, their one-year-old sibling, and Martell’s mother on the property.
During a conversation on May 9, a local resident named Brad Wong informed two constables that he heard a “loud vehicle” moving back and forth near Daniel’s residence in the early hours of May 2.
According to RCMP Cpl. Charlene Curl’s court request, Wong observed vehicle lights over the treetops as the vehicle departed the area multiple times after midnight and returned, staying within hearing distance throughout the night.
Subsequently, on May 17, another resident, Justin Smith, shared that around 1:30 a.m. on May 2, he heard a car near the intersection of Highway 289 and Gairloch Road, close to where the children disappeared.
Smith mentioned that the vehicle made noise, then went silent for a brief period before driving towards Lairg Road.
Furthermore, the documents contained Martell’s statement about the evening prior to the disappearance, where he mentioned going to bed early and waking up in the morning.
Brooks-Murray stated that she put the children to bed before retiring herself at 9 p.m., while Martell stayed up with intentions to clean the house but did not complete the task by the time she woke up.
Martell clarified in a phone interview that nobody left the property that night except for him in the morning when he went to look for the missing children in Murray-Brooks’ SUV.
Martell expressed that the vehicle noise mentioned by witnesses was not related to their family’s activities, emphasizing that the RCMP did not question him about the vehicle movements.
Despite requests for interviews, Brooks-Murray has not responded, and an investigator noted in the documents that as of July 16, the disappearance was not deemed criminal.
Moreover, the records indicated that police spoke with Darin Geddes, a relative of Brooks-Murray, who appeared on a true crime show suggesting theories about the children’s disappearance.
Geddes speculated about Brooks-Murray’s involvement and claimed to have insights into the children’s whereabouts, leading to police interviews and further investigations.
The case, shrouded in mystery and speculation, attracted global attention due to the unresolved nature of the disappearance despite extensive search efforts.
Recently, RCMP reported that cadaver dogs did not locate any human remains during searches, reinforcing that the case is being pursued under the Missing Persons Act and not as a criminal matter.