Alice Springs missing child: Police seize number of items linked to disappearance of 5yo Sharon Granites

Detectives have seized a child’s underwear, a doona and clothing from a crime scene linked to the disappearance of five-year-old Sharon Granites, as police warn that anyone helping her abductor will also find themselves “in strife”.

Northern Territory Police are desperately searching for the “affectionate little girl” and 47-year-old Jefferson Lewis, who was released from jail last week and is also missing.

Acting Assistant Commissioner Peter Malley on Wednesday warned anyone helping Lewis evade police that they could also face charges.

“I think he’s being helped for sure,” he said.

“Absolutely he is and I caution anybody giving him a hand because, when we do get him, and it’s only a matter of time, you might be in strife as well.”

“There’s people in the community that aren’t telling us what we need to hear. That’s really frustrating when we believe that there’s some serious offences that have been committed and people are withholding that information from the police.”

Police believe Sharon was “led away” from an Aboriginal town camp, called Old Timers, on the outskirts of Alice Springs on Saturday night.

Sharon and her mother were visiting the camp, wedged between the Stuart Highway and Todd River, where Lewis was staying.

Lewis, who was seen holding a little girl’s hand hours before they both vanished, was released from prison six days earlier and has a history of violent offending.

Police have established a crime scene at a site on the banks of the Todd River.

“We seized a number of items from that crime scene, being a doona and doona cover, the shirt that Jefferson Lewis was wearing – it was a distinct yellow one – and we seized a pair of child’s underwear from that location,” Mr Malley said.

“Those items have now been transported to Darwin and they’re undergoing forensic analysis and I expect to have that back tomorrow.

“It was on the river bank at the back of the camp, so it was pretty close by.”

Sharon’s family were informed about the items of interest “very early on” and are “obviously distressed”.

“It’s a horrible thing that they are going through at the moment and we’re doing the best we can for them at this stage,” he said.

Mr Malley said intelligence has been shared interstate – including with Western Australia, South Australia and Queensland – though police still believe Lewis is in Central Australia.

“Somebody could be assisting him to stay away from us, and I would caution anybody assisting him because you could also find yourself being charged with offences,” he said.

“He has family there (in Balgo, WA) and we have sought assistance from the Western Australia police, and they have attended that community and conducted inquiries for us there.

“From the investigation we’ve undertaken, from people we’ve spoken to, we still think he’s here. But, like I said, I’ve been wrong before, and we’re considering everything.”

Sharon was last seen at Old Timers camp late on Saturday night but police say the “exact timeline of events remains under investigation”.

About 1.35am on Sunday morning, police received reports that Sharon could not be located at her residence on Marshall Court at Old Timers Camp.

“Current investigations have a witness claiming to have seen Jefferson Lewis holding hands with Sharon at around 11pm that night,” police said.

“Shortly after this, a family member claims to have seen Sharon within the residence.

“At around 11:30pm, family notice she is missing from the residence. Police are contacted at 1:35am.”

Police admit they do not know if Sharon is still with Lewis or if she might have “wandered off into the bush”.

But Commissioner Martin Dole said members of the community “know where Jefferson Lewis is”.

“It’s very unusual that we’ve got absolutely no contact, no trace and no location of Mr Lewis so we absolutely believe that there’s members of the community who know where he is, where he went and how to contact him,” he said.

“We implore those people to come forward and give us that information.”

Mr Malley said they’ve had to “go back to 1930s policing” in their bid to track Lewis.

“You know, this man doesn’t have a telephone. He doesn’t have a bank account. He doesn’t have a car,” Mr Malley said.

“So some of the usual practices that we do in 2026 aren’t applicable, hence the amount of resources we have on the ground.

“You know, we’re knocking on doors. We’re going through houses. It’s old style policing and it’s a hard slog.”

Mr Malley said police have been searching places Lewis was known to visit.

“He has, in the past, had an ankle monitor on and so that also has been looked at, and that revealed many places of interest,” he said.

“So anywhere he’s frequented, we’ve been, and we’ll continue to go until we get him.”

Lewis, from Lajamanu, was released from prison less than a week before Sharon vanished.

Between 2016 and 2025, Mr Lewis was sentenced to 64 months in prison for offences including aggravated assaults, breaching domestic violence orders, bail and resisting police.

His message to Lewis was blunt: “Hand yourself in”.

“Go to the nearest police station or give us a call and we’ll come and grab you.”

Anyone with information on the whereabouts of Lewis or Sharon is urged to call police on 000. Please quote reference P26120934 or contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.