A five-year-old girl missing in the outback in Australia’s Northern Territory is believed to have been abducted, police officials said in the latest update on her disappearance on Monday.
The girl, identified as Sharon Granites by the police, was last seen on Saturday when she was put to bed in her family home just before midnight.
“Around 1.35am on Sunday morning, police received reports that Sharon could not be located at her residence on Marshall Court, Old Timers Camp, Alice Springs. It is believed she was last seen around 11:30pm on Saturday evening,” the NT police said in a statement.
Police conducted an initial search of the area utilising extensive resources but were unable to locate Sharon, the statement added.
Officers resumed search operations on foot on Monday morning after they were unable to locate the girl overnight.
NT police’s acting commander, Mark Grieve, said a man who was staying at the camp and vanished around the same time could be involved and the authorities were searching for him.
Investigators said they were looking for 47-year-old Jefferson Lewis, who was recently released from prison.
“Police are seeking public assistance to locate 47-year-old male, Mr Jefferson Lewis, who police believe can assist with enquires,” the police said. Officers and volunteers have checked the nearby bush for the child.
Commander Grieve has asked anyone aware of any information related to the case to contact the police. He added that the man was known to authorities on complaints of domestic abuse and family violence-related offences.
“He currently remains one of the few people who were in Old Timers camp at the time and who has not made themselves known to police, nor have police been able to locate him,” he said.
The officials first confirmed Sharon’s disappearance on Sunday morning around 6.43am. They said the police force “holds concerns for the welfare of 5-year-old Sharon who was reported missing from Alice Springs overnight”.
“She was last seen wearing a dark blue short sleeve T-shirt with a white ring stripe around neck and white ring stripe around the end of the sleeves, and a pair of black boxer style underwear,” the statement said.
Two photos of the child shared by the police showed the five-year-old girl seated in a chair and with a backpack.
They also shared visuals of Mr Lewis from body-worn police footage in the Old Timers camp when they were there on Saturday evening for an unrelated incident. He is seen wearing a yellow shirt and army camouflage pants.
Commander Grieve said it is a “terrible situation to have such a young child go missing”.
“We’re over 24 hours now so it’d certainly be my worst nightmare as a parent,” he added.
“We want to find Sharon healthy and we want to get her back to her family,” Mr Grieve said.
Lewis, sought in the case, has a long history of violence and prison time, reported ABC News.
He was sentenced to more than five years in prison over the past decade for separate, serious violence-related offences, the report added.
