NT Police say some in community ‘absolutely know’ where missing Alice Springs girl’s suspected abductor is

Five-year-old Sharon went missing from Alice Springs Old Timers town camp late on Saturday. (Supplied: NT Police Force)

Northern Territory Police say some people in the community “absolutely know” the whereabouts of the man alleged to have abducted a five-year-old Alice Springs girl.

Warning: This article contains content some readers may find distressing.

Sharon Granites was noticed missing from a home in the Old Timers town camp, in Alice Springs, in the early hours of Sunday morning, and has not been seen since.

Police have previously said they believe the five-year-old was abducted by a recently released prisoner, 47-year-old Jefferson Lewis, who happened to be at the camp at the same time.

Speaking to the media on Wednesday afternoon, NT Police Commissioner Martin Dole urged anyone who may be helping Mr Lewis or know where he is to come forward.

Martin Dole and Peter Malley have provided an update on the search for the missing five-year-old. (ABC News: Tristan Hooft)

“We believe that there are members of the community that absolutely know where Jefferson Lewis is,” Commissioner Dole said.

“What I want to say to you is, tell us.

“Tell us what you know. Tell us where he is. Tell us how to contact him.”

Police Assistant Commissioner for Crime and Intelligence, Peter Malley, issued a warning to anyone who may be helping Mr Lewis.

Police allege 47-year-old Jefferson Lewis has abducted Sharon Granites. (Supplied: NT Police Force)

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

The assistant commissioner also provided an update on items found at the crime scene on the banks of the Todd River, which sits adjacent to Old Timers town camp.

“We have seized a number of items from that crime scene, being a 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,” Assistant Commissioner Malley said.

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

Assistant Commissioner Malley said despite police “looking all over the place” for Sharon and Mr Lewis, they believed the 47-year-old man was still “local”.

He also said “intelligence packages” had been given to the police forces in Western Australia, South Australia and Queensland, and that specific “inquiries” had been made at Balgo in WA, where some of Mr Lewis’s family reside.

Police reiterated their belief that Sharon is still alive, elaborating by saying they had sought the advice of bush survival experts.

“We speak to survival experts and we look at if she was wandering around on her own in the bush and how long she could survive for, and we’re still within that timeframe,” Assistant Commissioner Malley said.

But the assistant commissioner highlighted that “we’re right on the threshold” of Sharon’s survival chances, “hence the urgency” to find her.

Search taken back to ‘1930s-style policing’

Assistant Commissioner Malley said the search for Mr Lewis had been challenging, largely due to his lack of a digital footprint.

“”This man doesn’t have a telephone, doesn’t have a bank account, he doesn’t have a car, so some of the usual practices we do in 2026 aren’t applicable,” he said.

“Hence the amount of resources we have on the ground — we’re knocking on doors, we’re going through houses.

“It’s going back to 1930s policing without that digital footprint.”

Police say they expect the dozens of volunteers who turned up to help look for Sharon Granites on Tuesday to again pitch in today. (ABC News: Will Green)

Despite that, police said they had been able to use data from an ankle monitor Mr Lewis previously wore to identify places he used to frequent, saying the method had “revealed many places of interest”.

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

Assistant Commissioner Malley said.

Assistant Commissioner Malley said if Mr Lewis was listening he should hand himself in.

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

A crime scene established at the Old Timers town camp where missing Alice Springs five-year-old Sharon Granites was last seen on Saturday night. (ABC News: Will Green)

Police also provided more details on another, separate incident that took place at Old Timers town camp that same Saturday night, which saw Mr Lewis be captured on officers’ body-worn camera footage.

The assistant commissioner said police were called to the town camp in response to a “mental health episode”, but that when they arrived Mr Lewis was “one of the only people there”.

“There was nothing going on, so the police made some inquiries, had a look around and left,” Assistant Commissioner Malley said.

He added that the little girl’s disappearance was a “parent’s worst nightmare” and that her family were “distressed” about the absence of their “very affectionate little girl”.