šDesperate Grandmother’s Heartbreaking Plea: ‘I Need to Be Their Voice ā Alive or Gone’ ā Launches GoFundMe to Fight for Guardianship of Missing Nova Scotia Kids
In the frozen woods of rural Nova Scotia, where snow still blankets the search grounds and hope flickers like a dying ember, one grandmother refuses to let two tiny faces fade into oblivion.
Belynda Gray, the paternal grandmother of missing siblings Lilly Sullivan, 6, and Jack Sullivan, now 5, has launched a tear-jerking GoFundMe campaign to fund her battle for legal guardianshipādesperate to unlock sealed records from Child Protective Services and the children’s school that could finally reveal what happened before they vanished.
It’s been nearly 10 agonizing months since Lilly and Jack disappeared from their remote home on Gairloch Road in Lansdowne Station, Pictou County, on May 2, 2025. Reported missing after supposedly wandering off while their mother and stepfather slept, the case has gripped Canada with endless questions, massive volunteer searches, a $150,000 provincial rewardāand zero answers.
Gray, speaking from her home in Middle Musquodoboit, explained the gut-wrenching reason behind her fight: “That was my main reason for wanting to start this. If Lilly and Jack are found, I want to be able to be a voice for them to receive love and care in the future. If things donāt go the way weāre hoping, I want to be the voice and the person who lays them to rest with love.”
Her words hit like a punch to the stomach. Gray has openly admitted her “heart tells me these babies are gone,” yet she clings to every shred of possibility. Now, with winter finally easing its grip, she’s counting down to springāwhen she plans to resume ground searches with cadaver dogs once the snow melts and the dense forests become searchable again.
The GoFundMeātitled something along the lines of “Legal Justice” for her grandchildrenāisn’t about luxuries. It’s to cover mounting court costs, filing fees, travel expenses to hearings, and more. Her lawyer is working pro bono, but bureaucracy doesn’t come cheap. Gray has already appeared in court once and has another hearing scheduled to amend paperwork in her push for guardianship over the children’s records.
Why the desperate need for access? Sealed CPS files and school reports could hold critical clues about the kids’ lives in the rundown trailer they shared with their pregnant mother Malehya Brooks-Murray and stepfather Daniel Martellāa home described in reports as isolated and troubled.
Martell was arrested on January 26, 2026, facing unrelated charges of assault, forcible confinement, and sexual assault against an adult woman on Gairloch Road. Those allegations have not been proven in court, and his next appearance is set for Pictou Provincial Court. Police insist the charges are separate from the disappearanceābut the timing has fueled endless speculation and heartbreak.
Gray remains cautiously optimistic about the RCMP’s work. “I actually feel the RCMP are on the right track,” she said. “I feel hopeful that we will have an answer.” Pictou County warden Robert Parker echoed that sentiment: “I donāt doubt the RCMP are doing all they can, but until they get a break, theyāre not going to be able to do anything. They canāt just come up with news to tell people. It has to be something real.”
Yet for a grandmother who hasn’t seen her grandbabies in years before they vanished, every day without closure is torture. The family dynamics laid bare in unsealed documents paint a picture of turmoil: allegations of intimate partner violence, a chaotic household, and a 911 call from the mother claiming the children had wandered off.
Massive searchesāby air, ground, volunteers in bright orange vestsāturned up nothing. Tips flooded in after the reward announcement. But the silence from authorities has left Gray and supporters frustrated, determined to keep the spotlight burning.
The children’s innocent faces stare out from every poster, every news clip: Lilly with her sweet smile and tousled hair, Jack with his cheeky grin and bright eyes. Photos show them happy, playfulāmoments frozen in time before the nightmare began.
Gray’s campaign is more than fundraisingāit’s a defiant stand. “I’ll never stop speaking out,” she vowed in earlier interviews. She’s organized independent searches, shared her “fraught relationship” with the children’s mother, and become the unrelenting voice demanding accountability.
As spring approaches and the snow recedes, the woods of Lansdowne Station may finally yield secrets. But until then, Belynda Gray fights onācourtroom by courtroom, dollar by dollarāfor the right to protect or properly mourn the grandchildren she loves so fiercely.
The GoFundMe link circulates on Facebook groups and support pages, where devastated followers rally: “Belynda is the voice for Jack and Lilly… she is devastated that her grandbabies are still missing!”
In a case shrouded in mystery, one thing shines clear: a grandmother’s unbreakable love refuses to let two little souls be forgotten.
