The rural community in Nova Scotia where two young children went missing is now in a state of sadness, according to the Warden of Pictou County, Robert Parker.
Lily and Jack Sullivan, four and six years old, wandered away from home nearly two weeks ago near Lansdown Station, about 20 kilometers from New Glasgow.
Parker tells our newsroom community members have shifted from feeling hope and anxiety to a sense of urgency for an explanation.
“What they really want now is answers. They need answers and maybe we won’t get them for a long time. I don’t know,” says Parker.
“What happens when people want answers and they’re not getting them; is they start making up their own answers.”
He says there is some gossip through town, and it is human nature to speculate over what may have happened, but it gets “unhealthy” when those rumors go public.
“Until [the RCMP] tell us if they have some answers, and right now they don’t, so there’s nothing to tell,” adds Parker.
A helicopter flies over Lansdowne Station in Pictou County, N.S., as part of the search and rescue operation to find Lilly and Jack Sullivan, two children who went missing on May 2. (Jacob Moore/Acadia Broadcasting)
A little fear
There are actions being taken in the community to help residents, especially children, feel a little more comfortable amid the uncertainty.
Parker says there was a meeting just a few days ago in the fire hall to discuss how to do just that.
“When bad things happen, and you know, your mind might go almost anywhere thinking what those bad things could do to you,” notes Parker.
He says the children’s school, Salt Springs Elementary, is trying to keep things as normal as possible and is doing a “wonderful” job.
“They’ve got mental health people there too, as schools always do in times of tragedy,” says Parker.
However, he adds, it’s not just the younger children who are being impacted as the concern spreads- older students are feeling it too.
“[This one high school teacher] told me that a lot of times there will be small groups in the high school talking, and some just breaking down in tears. It’s a very emotional issue when it involves our little ones,” says Parker.
Search scaled back
It was May 2 when Lilly and Jack went missing from Gairloch Road.
Two vulnerable persons alerts were sent out and a massive search began that lasted six days with more than 160 volunteers covering over five and a half kilometers of rough terrain and tens of thousands of search hours.
Nova Scotia Ground Search and Rescue Association/Facebook
Last week, RCMP announced they were scaling the search back to go over areas of interest a little closer.
This, Parker says, was expected.
“I think people were prepared for that. They knew you could only keep up that search level for so long,” adds Parker.
Now, he says, the professionals need to do their work and “we need to be very careful what we say, especially publicly.”
“Just remember, be patient and kind,” says Parker.
Latest update
The latest update from RCMP on the investigation was released Tuesday, when they said officials were working “day and night” on the file.
This includes not only scouring bodies of water but following up on more than 180 tips they’ve received from the public and identifying 35 people for formal interviews – including those closest to Lilly and Jack.
“Like all Nova Scotians, we want answers, and we want to know what happened to these children,” says S/Sgt. MacKinnon.
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