Police hunt released prisoner in Alice Springs girl abduction case

Police are treating the disappearance of five-year-old Sharon as an abduction after she vanished from Marshall Court in Alice Springs’ Old Timers Aboriginal town camp, with investigators now focused on a 47-year-old man they believe can assist with inquiries. Other reports identify him as Jefferson Lewis, and police have said he was the only person they could not locate and speak to who was in and around the area at the time.

Sharon was last seen by family just before 11:30pm on Saturday, April 25, 2026, when she was put to bed. Her family reported her missing at about 1:30am on Sunday, April 27, after she could not be found at home. Police said she was last seen wearing a dark blue short-sleeve T-shirt and black boxer-style underwear.

The search has drawn about 50 police officers, emergency services and a helicopter, with the public asked to come forward with any information. Northern Territory police had initially described their concern for Sharon as “mounting concerns” and said it was probable she had wandered out of the home, but the case was later escalated as officers said they now believed she had been abducted.

The investigation has put fresh attention on the vulnerability of children in Alice Springs town camps, which are Aboriginal communities within the town. Tangentyere Council Aboriginal Corporation says it works across the town camps, including Old Timers, and across more than 10,000 Aboriginal people from Central Australia. The National Missing Persons Coordination Centre, established in 2006, was created to help drive national coordination in missing-person cases alongside state and territory police.

Police have also said the man they want to speak with was recently released from prison and was staying at the home when Sharon disappeared, raising urgent questions about supervision, parole oversight and the safeguards around children living in crowded community housing. The case is already drawing comparisons with the 2021 abduction of Cleo Smith in Carnarvon, Western Australia, when the four-year-old was missing for 18 days before police found her alive. Terence Kelly later received a sentence of 13 years and six months, with parole eligibility after 11 years and six months.