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A child’s underwear and a man’s T-shirt have been found by a river bank as the desperate search for a missing five-year-old girl in the Northern Territory enters its fourth day.
Sharon Granites was last seen before 11pm on Saturday at a family friend’s house on Marshall Court in the Old Timers Aboriginal town camp, on the outskirts of Alice Springs.
Northern Territory Police suspect she was abducted by Jefferson Lewis, 47, who had been released from prison six days earlier and was staying at the same address as the little girl.
On Wednesday, NT Police Commissioner Martin Dole confirmed that despite extensive resources being poured into the disappearance, and more than 100 volunteers and police joining the search, there had been no trace of Lewis or Sharon.
“It’s very unusual that we’ve got absolutely no contact, no trace and no location of Mr Lewis,” he said.
“So we absolutely firmly believe that there are members of the community that know where he is, where he went, and how to contact him, and we implore those people to come forward and give us that information.”
NT Police Assistant Commissioner Peter Malley said Lewis was last seen walking away from the town camp holding hands with Sharon about 11pm on Saturday night, with a crime scene near the river bank cordoned off the following day.
“We’ve seized a number of items from that crime site, being a doona, a doona cover, the shirt that Jefferson Lewis was wearing – a distinct yellow one – and we seized a pair of child’s underwear from that location,” he said.
“Those items have now been transported to Darwin, and they’re undergoing forensic analysis, and I expect to have that back tomorrow.”
Malley said survival experts had warned police that if Sharon wandered off into the bush, she may not survive much longer.
“I think we’re right on the threshold of [her not surviving] if she’s wandered away, hence the urgency,” he said.
“As time goes on the chances of finding little Sharon alive and well reduce.”
Authorities still believe Lewis is in the Alice Springs area, and is being helped by others to remain undetected.
The search has so far covered 5 square kilometres by foot and 80 square kilometres by air and vehicle.
“It’s pretty difficult [search conditions]; it’s long grass, it’s soft sand, rocks, large trees, it’s really overgrown, so it’s a tough slog out there for the people searching,” Malley said.
“It’s like we’re going back to 1930s policing without a digital footprint; this man doesn’t have a telephone, he doesn’t have a bank account, he doesn’t have a car, so some of the usual practices that we do in 2026 aren’t applicable, hence the amount of resources we have on the ground.
“We’re knocking on doors, we’re going through houses, it’s old-school policing, and it’s a hard slog.”
Dole said Sharon’s family were incredibly distressed, and being supported by NT Police.
“Our priority and immediate focus is to find Sharon,” he said.
“She’s a very affectionate little girl, loved by her family, so it’s a horrible thing that they’re going through at the moment.
“We are employing the entire community, anybody who may have information, no matter how small, that could help us locate Sharon, to contact police.
“Information can be provided anonymously through Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000. We will follow up every single piece of information we receive, the smallest detail could be the one that unlocks this investigation.”
The crime scene
Old Timers Aboriginal town camp is located about five kilometres south of Alice Springs town centre and is home to a small community of about 40 residents across nine houses.
On the day of Sharon’s disappearance, she and her mother were visiting friends at the camp to do some laundry.
That evening, police say there was a party taking place, and alcohol was being consumed, despite the camp being a dry community.
NT Police say they suspect Lewis, who was released from prison six days earlier with no conditions, was intoxicated at the time.
He was last seen around 11pm walking and holding hands with Sharon, with police suspecting he lured her away from the camp.
Lewis had been imprisoned multiple times in the past decade for serious assaults and domestic violence-related offences. He has no prior convictions for child-related offences.
Dozens of police officers and volunteers – including Indigenous trackers, a regiment of the Australian Army Reserve, drones, helicopters, motorcycle, the canine unit and the mounted division – have been scouring the outback for four days, searching for the pair.
The Granites family are spread through Northern Territory’s remote communities, with Sharon’s immediate relatives mainly living in Old Timer’s Camp.
Others are in Yuendumu, about two hours north of Alice Springs.
Lewis’ wife and children live in Balgo, a remote Aboriginal community in Western Australia, which has been attended by local police at the request of NT Police.
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