Exhaustion sets in as search for N.S. kids approaches 1 month

Almost a month into the search for two missing Pictou County children, searchers are beginning to wear out mentally and physically.

Lilly Sullivan, 6, and Jack Sullivan, 4, were reported missing from their rural Lansdowne Station, N.S., home on May 2.

About 80 searchers were out again on Sunday. They focused on a pipeline trail where a boot print was found during an earlier search.

Amy Hansen of Colchester Ground Search and Rescue, who is this weekend’s search co-ordinator, said there were no new finds over the weekend. It’s never been established that the boot print is related to the missing kids, but Hansen said earlier this weekend it was all the searchers had to go on.

She said morale was fairly good among those who turned out this weekend, but she conceded it has been hard on others. There have been two weekends of searching on top of the initial search.

“There are people that made the decision not to return to the search site this weekend because of either physical exhaustion or burnout or mental exhaustion,” Hansen said, noting the challenging terrain where searchers have worked.

She said that some people felt that they could not handle being in the situation again for another weekend. 

Hansen expected the search to be suspended on Sunday evening, barring new information.

Hansen said the decision to resume the search would depend on the RCMP and their investigation. The benefit of sending searchers back out again would also need to be taken into account.

“It’s getting to the point where maybe they need a little bit of time to recover and deal with the stress and issues like that, and spend time with their own families that they’re leaving behind to be out here,” she said.

Sunday’s search also involved teams from Pictou, East Hants, Strait, Sheet Harbour, Eastern Shore, Halifax and Pugwash.

RCMP said they have received more than 355 tips and have formally interviewed more than 50 people, with more interviews planned.

The Mounties have said all missing persons cases “are treated as suspicious until our investigation leads us to determine otherwise.”

Members of the community have been showing their support for Lilly and Jack by placing flowers and stuffed animals on a post outside of the RCMP detachment in Stellarton.