Stepfather of children missing in Pictou County, N.S., since Friday calls on public to help

An RCMP officer said wet weather Sunday afternoon complicated the search for two children missing in a rural area of Pictou County, N.S.

Lily Sullivan, 6, and Jack Sullivan, 4, were last seen Friday morning at their home on Gairloch Road in Lansdowne Station, about 20 kilometres southwest of New Glasgow.

RCMP Staff Sgt. Curtis MacKinnon said Sunday that 160 searchers are still doing their work despite the challenging conditions.

MacKinnon said searchers located what could be a footprint on Saturday and have expanded their search effort in that area.

The search will continue as long as needed, he said.

"They work on statistical data where how far individuals can go at this point in time and they'll continue to do what they do," he said.

"They're very specialized, trained people here that have the knowledge they need to in order to do the best they can."

Earlier Sunday, RCMP Staff Sgt. Josh Wiese, who is leading the ground search and rescue operations, said around 50 searchers, several police dogs and eight drone units looked for the children through the night.

He said the search effort doesn't stop, with teams rotating in and out. Wiese said there were around 120 searchers Saturday.

"There's no cellular service, which adds to all of the issues and the safety issues that we have for the searchers and everybody's pulling for the one goal: they want to find these two little kids as fast as possible," said Wiese.

He said members of the public can help with the search effort by checking sheds, culverts and ditches on their properties.

"That's the thing to check, but we just don't have the capacity to accept walk-up volunteers," said Wiese. "This is a very managed search."

Anyone with information about the children is urged to call Pictou County District RCMP at 902-485-4333.

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