Nova Scotia RCMP say they are forensically examining items found during the search for two young children who went missing from a rural Nova Scotia community 2½ months ago, as units from multiple provinces work to find out what happened to the siblings.
Lilly Sullivan, 6, and Jack Sullivan, 4, were reported missing on the morning of May 2 when police received a 911 call saying they had wandered away from their home in Lansdowne Station, about 140 kilometres northeast of Halifax.
The disappearance sparked days of extensive searches of the property and surrounding woods. Two boot prints were located on the driveway of the property and on a nearby pipeline trail, and a piece of a blanket was also found on a nearby road.
In a news release Wednesday, RCMP said the major crime unit is leading the investigation with help from units in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Ontario, along with the National Centre of Missing Persons, Canadian Centre for Child Protection, and provincial and municipal police agencies from other parts of the country.
The release said a pink blanket that was seized on Lansdowne Road during the search is being forensically examined. The children’s stepfather, Daniel Martell, previously told CBC News that the blanket belongs to Lilly.
The Mounties said they are reviewing about 5,000 video files obtained through a video canvass of Lansdowne Station and the surrounding areas.
They have formally interviewed more than 60 people, some of whom were given polygraph tests. Martell has confirmed he participated in a polygraph test last month, and that he was told he passed.
The Mounties are also following up on more than 600 tips from the public, and are “submitting judicial authorizations to seize and examine materials and devices that may provide information useful to the investigation.”
“Right now, there are more than 800 tasks associated to this investigation,” Staff Sgt. Rob McCamon, the acting officer in charge of major crimes and and behavioural sciences.
“A tremendous amount of careful, deliberate investigative work is underway by people here at home and in other parts of Canada. Our collective efforts will continue every day until we determine with certainty the circumstances surrounding Lilly and Jack’s disappearance.”