Missing 5-year-old girl likely abducted from Outback home, police say

Authorities in the Northern Territory are urgently searching for a missing five-year-old girl named Sharon, who is believed to have been abducted from her family home in an Aboriginal town camp in Alice Springs. Sharon was last seen just before midnight on Saturday when her family put her to bed. Police are focusing their investigation on a 47-year-old man, Jefferson Lewis, who was staying at the camp and disappeared around the same time Sharon went missing. Northern Territory Police Acting Commander Mark Grieve confirmed that Lewis, who has a history of domestic and family violence offenses, remains unaccounted for and is a person of interest in the case. Authorities have appealed to the public for any information that could assist in locating both Sharon and Lewis. The search operation has involved police officers, volunteers, a dog squad, drone units, and a helicopter combing the surrounding bush and desert areas. The disappearance of such a young child has deeply concerned the community and law enforcement officials, with Commander Grieve describing the situation as a "terrible" and distressing ordeal. The camp where Sharon was last seen, known as Old Timers, is a designated area within Alice Springs, and police are working to piece together the circumstances leading up to her disappearance. This case highlights ongoing challenges in remote Indigenous communities, where resources for child protection and law enforcement can be limited. The police’s swift response and broad search efforts underscore the urgency of recovering Sharon safely. Authorities continue to urge anyone with relevant information to come forward to aid in the investigation and bring the child back to her family.