Urgent search is launched for five-year-old girl 'abducted' in Alice Springs

Published: 01:29, 27 April 2026 | Updated: 01:59, 27 April 2026 A desperate search has been launched for a five-year-old girl in the Northern Territory as police raise fears she has been abducted. Sharon was reported missing from her home at Old Timers Aboriginal town camp in Alice Springs at about 1.30am on Sunday after being put to bed. NT Acting Commander Mark Grieve said authorities are seeking to locate a 47-year-old man named Jefferson Lewis, who they believe can assist with their investigation. 'We do believe Sharon has been abducted and we believe [he] may be able to provide us with some information in regards to that,' Acting Commander Grieve told reporters a press conference on Monday. Lewis holds previous convictions for physical assaults and domestic violence offences and was recently released from prison. 'We're still trying to work through his movements since he got out of prison. We know that he was in and around Old Timers camp and that particular residence [on] Saturday afternoon into that evening,' Acting Commander Grieve said. 'We don't have any information in regards to whether Mr Lewis has access to a vehicle - we don't think he does - so we're hoping that he is still in the immediate area.  'And if he is involved, we certainly hope that no harm has come to Sharon.' Sharon was reported missing from her residence at Old Timers Aboriginal town camp in Alice Springs about 1.30am on Sunday after being put to bed NT Police believe the little girl was abducted from her home Police are seeking public assistance to locate 47-year-old, Jefferson Lewis, who they believe can assist with their enquiries  Acting Commander Grieve said police 'suspect' Lewis could provide information as to the whereabouts of Sharon due to a number of factors. 'He's the only person we haven't been able to locate and speak to, who was in and around that area at the time,' he said. 'Considering himself and Sharon went missing at around the same time, it certainly brings about those suspicious circumstances and we'd like to speak to him about that.' He said police have now provided wrap around support to Sharon's family as the search for their little girl continues. 'It's 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 said.  'We're wrapping around the mother, we've facilitated some other accomodation to provide her with some extra support and her family members.' Police believe Lewis and Sharon are not directly related but are known to each other. Sharon 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. Police are urging anyone with information to make contact on 131 444 and quote reference number P26120934.  No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.