The use of cadaver dogs in the search for two young siblings who from their home in rural Nova Scotia have netted no new clues on what happened to them.
In a Wednesday news release, RCMP said they continue to “explore all possible scenarios” to locate Lilly and Jack Sullivan because the searches in Lansdowne Station, N.S., did not find any human remains.
“The dogs are highly trained to detect and indicate the scent of human remains, therefore, if the dogs did not alert their handlers, it suggests the dogs were never in the presence of human remains odour,” said Staff Sgt. Stephen Pike in the release.
“However, this doesn’t definitively rule out the presence of remains in the areas that were searched. It means either the odour is there and couldn’t be detected or the odour isn’t there.”
The kids — aged six and four — were reported missing on May 2 from their home in Lansdowne Station, N.S., in Pictou County.
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The children’s family has said the siblings wandered away that morning from the home, which is situated in a heavily-wooded area.
In late September, two RCMP police dogs specifically trained in human remains detection travelled from British Columbia and Alberta, along with their handlers, and combed through a 40-kilometres area near the children’s home.
It marked the first time cadaver dogs were used in the investigation.
According to RCMP, the teams searched the property where the children went missing, along the pipeline and intersecting trails and in an area where a pink blanket was previously found. These were considered areas with “the highest probability of finding the children.”
“However, the teams did not locate any remains,” RCMP said.
The Mounties add that their Northeast Nova Major Crime Unit is still following up and assessing more than 860 tips, 8,060 video files and forensic testing.
Staff Sgt. Rob McCamon, the officer in charge of major crime and behavioural sciences, said they’re receiving support from agencies across the country and working to eliminate leads and “follow the evidence wherever it takes us.”
“At this stage, and as we’ve said all along, we’re considering all possibilities. We’ll keep going until we determine, with certainty, the circumstances of the children’s disappearance and they’re found,” he said.
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