The stepfather of two Nova Scotia kids who have been missing for close to six months says he doesn’t believe the siblings are in the woods near the family’s rural home.

Lilly, 6, and Jack, 5, Sullivan were reported missing on May 2 from their home in Lansdowne Station, N.S., in Pictou County. The children’s family has told media — and police, according to court documents — that the siblings wandered away that morning.

The two kids remain missing despite extensive searches by various agencies, the use of cadaver dogs, and RCMP combing through more than 860 tips, 8,060 video files and forensic testing.

“I believe at this point in the case that they’re not in the woods and they didn’t wander into the woods,” said Daniel Martell, who was in a relationship with the children’s mother, Malehya Brooks-Murray, and lived at the home with the children.

“Speculations run wild. But I’d like everybody to know that I’m working with (the RCMP’s) major crimes (unit) almost every day, just trying to figure stuff out.”

2:14Search by RCMP cadaver dogs fail to turn up human remains in missing N.S. kids case

In September, two RCMP police dogs specifically trained in human remains detection were brought in to search a 40-kilometre area near the home. Earlier this month, RCMP said those dogs did not find any remains.

Martell has previously told Global News that police administered a polygraph test with him, which he said he passed. RCMP have declined to confirm or deny this.

He said he remains outspoken on the case and some may view him as a “loose cannon,” but he wants to keep the public informed.

“I don’t know if I’m the best voice to be speaking for Lilly and Jack but I’m still going to do it anyway for the kids,” he said.

“I just think with all the accusations and allegations thrown out there and people don’t see me as … the most liked person, I guess. Hatred runs wild and speculations run wild against me.”

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Five-year-old Jack Sullivan, left, and six-year-old Lilly Sullivan, right, seen in this handout photo, went missing in the community of Lansdowne Station, N.S., on May 2, 2025. SDV

Vigil for Jack’s birthday

A vigil was held Wednesday night outside the RCMP detachment in Stellarton, N.S., to mark Jack’s fifth birthday, which Martell and some other relatives attended.

“Everything I do is for the kids. I didn’t miss the first vigil and I will definitely not miss this one,” Martell said.

“Definitely not on Jack’s birthday. An important date for everybody over the last six months. I wouldn’t miss this for the world.”

Martell said birthdays were always full of laughter for the children, and that sense of joy is missing this year.

“There was always laughter in the air and they were always so excited for everything,” he said. “Now, (you) come home and … it’s not fun, it’s just silence and you know that’s a real burden, not just on me but on Malehya as well.”

Vigil organizer Kent Corbett said the prayer vigil was an opportunity to bring the community together in a show of support.

“We can let the family know that Pictou County and Nova Scotia and beyond are not going to rest until we find answers and bring Jack and Lilly home.”

The children’s maternal aunts, Cheryl Robinson and Haley Ferdinand, were also at the vigil. Ferdinand said the accusations and speculation in the case have been difficult for the family and “cruel,” in addition to the pain of not knowing where the kids are.

“Absolutely miserable. It’s a nightmare that I wish we could just wake up from, and I wouldn’t wish this on anybody,” Ferdinand said.

“Everybody is desperate for answers but so are we. It’s frustrating, it’s very frustrating,” Robinson added.

1:56Volunteer group joining search for missing N.S. kids

Robert Parker, the warden for the Municipality of Pictou County, said the children’s disappearance has been weighing heavily on the whole region.

“It takes a village to raise a child. Well, it also takes a whole county to protect these children. We’ve seen the pictures of little Jack and little Lilly so often now, and our hearts ache,” Parker said.

“We want to do something. Everybody wants to do something to help, but there’s very little we can do. We have to rely on the RCMP; that’s their job. But people need answers.”

He cautioned against speculation and urged people to “stick to the facts” when it comes to spreading information about the case.

He, too, admitted he didn’t believe the kids were in the woods either.

“God bless the search and rescue people, but they’ve had so many people walk and they had the cadaver dogs in and they’ve got helicopters and everything. The majority of people that I talk to do not believe the little ones are in the woods,” he said.

— with a file from Angela Capobianco